Expectations Confounded: Patients Are Satisfied with THR and TKR Delivery in Australian Public Hospitals—A Multisite Case Study

Abstract

Background. The popular media infer that satisfaction with waiting lists for total hip or knee replacement surgery is poor; however, there is little supporting evidence for this. The purpose of this study was to describe patients satisfaction with the service they received for joint replacement surgery in a public hospital. Methods. A cross-sectional design was used to survey 450 patients. Data was analysed descriptively and chi-squared analyses (significance level of P < 0.05) were used to examine associations between variables. Results. The response rate was 71%. Nearly three-quarters (n = 312) of the sample were "very happy" with the service and 92.0% (n = 379) indicated that they would have their surgery again. Satisfaction was significantly associated with waiting time to the first appointment (chi-square; P = 0.002), whether the patients enquired about their waiting time (chisquare; P = 0.003), and the number of preoperative appointments (chisquare; P = 0.04). Most participants reported a maximum acceptable waiting period for initial appointment of less than 6 months but nearly half waited longer. Conclusions. The perception that patients are unhappy with elective surgery services in Australia may be unfounded despite many waiting longer than they consider appropriate.