Consultee satisfaction with a psychiatric consultation-liaison nursing service

A consumer satisfaction survey was conducted with nurses who made consecutive consultation requests to a general hospital psychiatric consultation-liaison nursing service. In each of 69 responses, global satisfaction ratings indicated that the consultee either was satisfied or very satisfied with the assistance provided. Particular strengths were noted in relation to the ease with which the consultants could be notified, the speed of response, and the clarity with which their formulations were expressed. The respondents were least satisfied with the extent of written documentation and the amount of follow-up. In a multiple regression analysis, only the total number of visits emerged as a significant predictor of satisfaction scores. However, comparisons of replies of most satisfied and least satisfied also indicated that high satisfaction ratings were more likely to be given to consultations requesting assistance with patients' families rather than to consultations requesting help in the management of patients with major psychiatric disorders.