Background: Patient satisfaction means the degree to which patients have their expectations met as they interact with different components of the health care system. Nursing care quality concerns the delivery of quality patient services, which are professionally holistic and caring.
Aim: The purpose of this research is to determine the level of patient satisfaction with nursing care in the surgical wards of the Saidu Group of Teaching Hospitals (SGTH).
Methods: The present research is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted at the SGTH to evaluate the satisfaction of patients with nursing care, with reference to surgical units. The 350 participants were between 18 and 60 years of age, having spent at least 48 hours in the hotels. The data was collected using a structured questionnaire which was developed by researchers to measure perceived satisfaction using the 5 Likert scale. The findings regarding satisfaction levels and the demographic data collected were assessed by means of Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS).
Results: The study sample consisted of 350 patients, including more male patients. In general, nursing care service quality from the patient’s perspective appeared satisfactory, especially regarding cleanliness, privacy, and pain management. However, there were certain features, such as communication and responsiveness, that revealed possibilities for development. The findings of this research show that the overall mean satisfaction score was 3.94, suggesting that the feedback was mainly positive but that small improvements in communication and attentiveness could be made.
Conclusion: From the research, the patients were very satisfied with the level of nursing care they received in the surgical units; most regarding cleanliness, privacy, and pain control. However, the areas that can be improved include communication and responsiveness. Improving these areas can potentially offer an even better experience for the client/patient and improve the quality of nursing care.

Patient satisfaction, Nursing care, Surgical units, Pain management, Demographic data.

Patient satisfaction can be defined as the degree to which a patient’s requirements have been fulfilled while accessing the healthcare services needed. This remains an umbrella term that refers to the delivery of standardized care that is both professional and sensitive in meeting the needs of the patient, which is physical, emotional, or psychological.[1] However, patient satisfaction is normally connected with the quality of the surgical units and care given by nurses, as they are the most important single caregivers during post-operative recovery and comfort.[2]

Surgical wards are special areas in organizational practice in that they accommodate patients who require postoperative nursing care.[3] Patients who are under surgery are mostly in pain, anxious and have reduced mobility, hence aggressive work of the nursing personnel is expected after surgery.[4] The expectations of a nurse include taking vital signs, giving drugs, managing pain after a surgery, assessing and treating wounds, and being a source of consolation. Since it is understandable that patients in such environments are especially susceptible, effective and efficient nursing care should be evaluated regarding its concordance with patients’ expectations and effects upon patients’ satisfaction with their overall hospital stay.[5]

Nurse-patient communication, attentiveness to patients’ necessities, and organizational and individual workforce impressiveness also have impacts on the quality of nursing care in the surgical units as a way of managing pain.[6] Patient satisfaction, therefore, could be associated with the level of recovery, occurrence of complications, rate of recovery, or any other aspect of the patient’s experience in the hospital.[7] Poor nursing care, for example, building inadequate response to patients’ calls or failures in communication, results in dissatisfaction and may influence a patient’s prognosis and perception of the health system.[8]

It is important to carry out an analysis of patients’ satisfaction in surgical units, not only to enhance the quality of the care provided, but also to inform the formulation of the hospital’s policies and actions.[9] Given the role that patient satisfaction plays in patient and hospital satisfaction, the promotion of this value in the hospital setting will improve patient and hospital outcomes. This study aims to assess some of the characteristics of nursing care from the patient’s point of view, to identify areas of focus for improvement, and to satisfy the expectations of surgical unit staff to meet the needs of their customers.[10]

Quantitative cross-sectional study was employed to determine patient satisfaction with nursing care in units of SGTH, Northwest of Pakistan, during June-August 2024. The selected method of sampling was convenience sampling, and a total of 350 participants were used in the study. Surgical patients who were 18 to 60 years of age and had been admitted to the surgical units for a minimum of 48 hours postoperatively were recruited into the study. Low-risk patients who were hospitalized for less than 48 hours and those who could not make informed consent because of their conditions were not included.

Data collection procedure: The data was administered to 350 participants through a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire used was developed by the author of the study and contained fifteen questions concerning different aspects of nursing care, communication, response, professionalism, and pain. The satisfaction level was graded using a 5-point Likert scale: Compared themselves to Very Dissatisfied (1), Dissatisfied (2), Neutral (3), Satisfied (4), and Very Satisfied (5).

Data analysis procedure: This study employs a quantitative method of data collection and analysis. The data was therefore analyzed using SPSS software version 27. Measures of central tendency, including mean, standard deviation, and frequency tables, were employed to describe demographic variables and other important study variables.

Ethical Consideration: Ethical clearance to conduct the study was sought from the Medical Superintendent of the hospital. All participants provided written informed consent. Thus, they volunteered themselves, and anonymity was also ensured.

Demographic characteristics of study participants: The total number of participants in the study was 350, where the number of male participants was higher compared to female participants (Table 1).

Table 1: Demographic characteristics of the participants (n = 350)

Table 2: Patient satisfaction with nursing care (n = 350)

Table 3: Descriptive statistics of satisfaction levels

The results of this study suggest that patient satisfaction with nursing care is high among surgical units. Patients’ average rating of perceived satisfaction with the services offered in the components of nursing services was 3.94, and the majority of responses were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’, suggesting that the patients had a positive experience concerning receiving nursing services. The above reveals a high level of satisfaction in cleanliness, privacy, and pain management, implying that the nursing staff in the surgical setting is fully attending to the basic needs of the patients.[11] Nevertheless, there are some aspects where it is possible to focus on improvement, namely, in communication and response, as well as empathy, in which some patients experienced neutral or rather dissatisfied.[12]

For instance, the sharing of information regarding the state of a patient or the care plan that could work for that patient received a mixed reaction. Although most participants reported their satisfaction with healthcare services, a considerable number of patients reported that they are neutral about receiving information about their conditions, which could mean that there are sometimes inadequate ways of transmitting information.[13] Filling these gaps could serve to strengthen trust between the patient and the surgeon, and may help lower anxiety among patients, particularly surgery patients.[14] As for the patients’ needs, responsiveness also received a number of above-average ratings. However, the neutral responses suggest that there may be occasions when the patient feels his/her needs are understaffed, likely due to the high patient-to-nurse ratio.[15]

About other aspects of care, there was satisfaction with pain management, perceived empathy, and attentiveness to the patients’ concerns as the major positive aspects, where there is also realized that there are areas for improvement. Despite most patients mentioning pain management satisfaction, few mentioned neutral, indicating that individualized pain management may have to be fine-tuned further.[16] Likewise, although empathic and attentive attitudes were assessed favorably, some patients complained that their emotional and psychological requirements were left unfulfilled to some extent. Enhancing these areas of care, therefore, can help in the provision of patient care with an emphasis on patient-centeredness, which is important in enhancing the general experience of patients undergoing surgery.[17]

Limitation of the study: Data were collected only from one hospital, which could lead to restricted generalization of results in different health care settings. Patients, depending on their responses, may provide information that would be considered socially acceptable.

Recommendations: In order to overcome these problems, it is necessary to provide enhanced training for the nursing staff in the realms of communication and appropriate expression of affection. Increasing staffing, particularly of nurses, and individualizing pain control measures could be good advances in the delivery of care. This paper illustrated that striving for further quality improvements through new activities and constant patient surveys is crucial for the quality of care. Such efforts can even enhance the global patient treatment experience in surgical wards.

Consequently, the present investigation intends to examine high patient satisfaction with the nursing care needed in the surgical units of Saidu Group of Teaching Hospitals, particularly in cleanliness, privacy, and pain control. However, the areas that can be altered are communication, responsiveness, and empathy. Communication could be much clearer about patient care, and the requests from patients need more prompt attention.

Not reported

Not reported

Corresponding Author:
Shah Hussain
Department of Nursing
Zalan College of Nursing Swat, Pakistan
Email: shahpicu@gmail.com

Co-Authors:
Muhammad Anwar
Department of Nursing
Medtach College of Nursing Dir, Pakistan

Nasar Mian
Department of Nursing
National college of Nursing Swat, Pakistan

Wajid Alam Khan
Department of Nursing
Saidu Teaching Hospital Swat, Pakistan

Bahar Khan
Department of Nursing
Saidu Teaching Hospital Swat, Pakistan

All authors contributed to the conceptualization, investigation, and data curation by acquiring and critically reviewing the selected articles. They were collectively involved in the writing – original draft preparation, and writing – review & editing to refine the manuscript. Additionally, all authors participated in the supervision of the work, ensuring accuracy and completeness. The final manuscript was approved by all named authors for submission to the journal.

Ethical clearance to conduct the study was sought from the medical superintendent of the SGTH hospital. All participants provided written informed consent. Thus, they volunteered themselves, and anonymity was also ensured.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

None

https://doi.org/10.63096/medtigo30623114

Shah H, Muhammad A, Nasar M, Wajid AK, Bahar K. Assessment of patient satisfaction with nursing care in surgical units. medtigo J Med. 2025;3(1):e30623114. doi:10.63096/medtigo30623114 Crossref