Patients’ Satisfaction with Healthcare Delivery in the Gambia: A Case Study of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the satisfaction of patients about the services provided at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH) in the Gambia. A cross-sectional study design was used to evaluate how the patients view the healthcare services provided at the EFSTH. The main research question is “what is the satisfaction level of patients about the services provided at the EFSTH”. The SERVQUAL tool was used to collect data from a sample of 250 patients receiving care at the EFSTH. This sample was chosen using the systematic random sampling method. The variable of the study that were measured are satisfaction, expectations and perceptions of patients about the services they received. Data was collected from the outpatient and inpatient department of the hospital. The quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS statistical tool for descriptive statistics, mainly involving the percentages, and the results are presented in tables and charts.  The study found out that most of the patients have higher expectations and a low level of perception of the services provided at the EFSTH. There was a low level of patient satisfaction with the hospital services as only 36.8% of the patients strongly agree that they are satisfied with the hospital services provided. The findings also showed that most of the respondents regarded doctors’ services as the most important services provided at the hospital. There is only one service feature (housekeeping) with a positive quality gap score of 2.19667 indicating high quality of services and high patient satisfaction.

There is a low level of patient’s satisfaction about the services provided at the EFSTH which is tied to a low level of service quality.