New report reveals how Manitobans feel about hospital health care

A new report out of the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) has found that most Manitobans have positive experiences with the health-care system in hospitals.

The information, released on Thursday, shows how Canadians feel about the care they received at the hospital.

CIHI surveyed care at 260 hospitals across the country, asking patients about their experiences with communication, decision-making, and understanding of treatment.

“This is really a starting point, these results, and it’s an exciting starting point because we now have that data across the country and hospitals can learn from each other and really talk about best practices,” said Salima Hadibhai, manager of the performance improvement and capacity building team at CIHI.

“Patient experience data is really integral to improving patient-centred care.”

During the survey process, CIHI surveyed more than 10,000 Manitobans and found that 62 per cent said their overall hospital experience was very good, while 23 per cent said it was good, and 14 per cent said they had a poor overall experience.

According to the report, one of the key factors of overall patient experience is strong communication with doctors and nurses – an area in which Manitobans were largely satisfied.

The survey shows that 71 per cent of Manitobans said communication with doctors was very good, 27 per cent said it was good, and two per cent said it was poor.

As for communication with nurses, the numbers were similar. Sixty-nine per cent of Manitoba residents said communication with nurses was very good, 30 per cent said it was good, and one per cent said it was poor.

Hadibhai noted this data was gathered during the COVID-19 pandemic, when hospitals had to make many changes.

“I think it’s important to remember that people still feel like they were treated with courtesy, treated with respect, even with the radical transformation we’ve seen in the health-care system over the past couple of years,” she said.

Another way in which hospitals can help to improve a patient’s quality of life is through an efficient discharge from the facility.

According to CIHI, an effective discharge process allows a patient to walk away with a good understanding of their prescribed medications, plentiful information on what to do if they are worried about their condition, and a good understanding of their condition.

“It’s those important conversations when you’re released from hospital when you want to know what to expect, what to do if you have a question,” Hadibhai explained.

CIHI found that 59 per cent of the Manitobans surveyed had very good information and understanding when leaving the hospital, 35 per cent had a good understanding, while seven per cent had poor information and understanding.

The area in which Manitobans expressed the most dissatisfaction with the health-care system was in their involvement in the decision-making process.

CIHI found that 52 per cent of Manitobans said that their own or their friends’ and family’s involvement in making treatment decisions was very good. Thirty-two per cent said the involvement was good, and 15 per cent said it was poor.

“These are people. Patients are the why behind our data. They’re in the hospital to get better and also feel better,” Hadibhai said.

“It’s these conversations at the end of the day -- knowing your patients, knowing their anxieties, their fears and what is the emotional support you need for them.”

CIHI noted that learning about a patient’s experience during their stay at the hospital is important for understanding the overall health system performance. This data can help health-care providers, hospitals and health regions improve the patient experience and be more responsive to people’s needs.

“If you know what’s driving the results then you can target quality improvement initiatives,” said Hadibhai.

- With files from CTV’s Danny Halmarson.