Remember patients' views

Sir: The Government is said to be strongly committed to the principle of partnership between the NHS and patients (Stuart, 1999). A recent Government document, Patient and Public Involvement in the New NHS (NHS Executive, 1999) emphasises the importance of ‘patient partnership’ as central to the work of the NHS Executive. Hence an increasing amount of emphasis is being placed upon managers and clinicians to involve patients in the planning of the delivery of services. Little work has been done in this area. We would like to share the findings of a study of the preferred choice of psychiatric patients regarding the site for out-patient clinics, and the factors that influenced their choice.

Previously, in-patient psychiatric services for the Borough of Solihull were provided at Hollymoor Hospital, a traditional psychiatric hospital, approximately 15 miles from the centre of Solihull. Out-patient services were provided at Lyndon Clinic, a resource centre within the locality. When Hollymoor Hospital closed, in-patient services were transferred to the purpose-built Solihull Hospital, a District General Hospital. At this stage there was an opportunity to transfer out-patient clinics to the new hospital.

A questionnaire was designed to determine patients' preferences regarding the site for out-patient clinics — Lyndon Clinic or Solihull Hospital — and also the factors that influenced their choice. The questionnaires were distributed by the receptionist to 100 consecutive attendees at Lyndon Clinic and the patients were asked to complete and return them anonymously. The response rate was 100%. Data were analysed using the Chi-squared test.

Of 100 responses, 69 subjects had visited the new hospital, and only these data were analysed further. Of the 69, 51 (74%) preferred that the out-patient clinics be held at Lyndon Clinic, 11 (16%) preferred that the clinics be transferred to Solihull Hospital and 7 (10%) had no preference.

Parking and the availability of a convenient bus route were the only significant factors in determining patients' preference for the site of the clinic. Surprisingly, the quality of the reception, waiting area, the décor and the presence of catering facilities did not influence the choice of the site.

Many hospitals are large, centrally located establishments and often have poor provision for car-parking, which may lead to unnecessary increased levels of anxiety in patients. We invite comments from others on experience in this area and recommend that managers examine and consider these factors when planning services.