Patient satisfaction is an important measure of quality of care. This study compares the level of satisfaction in patients who receive physiotherapy care in private and public hospitals. The subjects (N=639) were patients who received physiotherapy care as outpatients in four (4) private and three (3) public hospitals, and who completed a 63-item closed-ended structured questionnaire titled, Modified Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire for Physiotherapy (PSQ- MP). The questionnaire was divided into two sections. Section A elicited information on socio- demographic data and section B consisted of sub- scales that assessed aspects of satisfaction, including appointment scheduling, accessibility to the physiotherapy department, the conduct of the physiotherapists, facilities, clinical expertise and general satisfaction. Overall, subjects were satisfied with care received in both public and private hospitals though subjects in the private hospitals expressed more satisfaction in all the sub-scales of the PSQ-MP than their counterparts in the public hospitals, particularly in the ‘facilities’ and  ‘appointment’ subscale of the PSQ-MP. In all,  subjects  who received physiotherapy in private hospitals were more satisfied than those who received physiotherapy in public hospitals. The subjects in public hospitals were particularly least satisfied with the ‘available physiotherapy facilities’ and ‘appointment schedules’. Government should therefore provide adequate facilities in the physiotherapy departments of public hospitals in order to manage the large volume of patients seen.

 

Key words: physiotherapy, patient satisfaction, private and public hospitals