Survey of carer satisfaction with the quality of care delivered to in-patients suffering from dementia

Quality assurance in British National Health Service provision stresses the importance of taking account of the consumer's viewpoint Elderly patients with dementia are not always able to contribute usefully to satisfaction surveys Therefore, their carers' views were sought in order to assess the quality of services offered to this client group Forty-one carers of patients discharged from the eight wards for the elderly mentally ill in Leicestershire, England, were randomly selected Individual focused interviews were conducted in carers' own homes Both quantitative and qualitative data were obtained by use of a questionnaire designed to tap the patients'/carers' experiences from preadmission, through hospital stay to post-discharge Interviewees were asked to describe their favourable/unfavourable impressions of, and reactions to, all aspects of hospital care These interviews were tape-recorded Analysis of the data included quantitative measurements of scale ratings Grounded theory was used to analyse qualitative data A wealth of information was uncovered using this research technique Much that was positive about the service was elicited However, carers highlighted areas where they felt the quality of care could be improved within all the foci discussed Twenty-two recommendations for quality improvements in service provision were made in the report as a result of this survey