Preliminary assessment of patients' opinions of queuing for coronary bypass graft surgery at one Canadian centre.
OBJECTIVE
To explore psychological and socioeconomic concerns of patients who queued for coronary artery bypass surgery and the effectiveness of support existing in one Canadian cardiovascular surgical center.


METHODS
Standardised questionnaire and structured interview.


METHODS
Victoria General Hospital, Halifax, Nova Scotia.


METHODS
100 consecutive patients awaiting non-emergency bypass surgery.


RESULTS
Most patients (96%) found the explanation of findings at cardiac catheterisation and the justification given for surgery satisfactory. However, 84 patients complained that waiting for surgery was stressful and 64 registered at least moderate anxiety. Anger over delays was expressed by 16%, but only 4% thought that queuing according to medical need was unfair. Economic hardship, attributed to delayed surgery, was declared by 15 patients. This primarily affected those still working--namely, blue collar workers and younger age groups. Only 41% of patients were satisfied with existing institutional supports. Problems related mainly to poor communication.


CONCLUSIONS
Considerable anxiety seems to be experienced by most patients awaiting bypass surgery. Better communication and education might alleviate some of this anxiety. Economic hardship affects certain patient subgroups more than others and may need to be weighed in the selection process. A more definitive examination of these issues is warranted.
Petrie
J F
JF
Victoria General Hospital, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Cox
J L
JL
Teskey
R J
RJ
Campbell
L B
LB
Johnstone
D E
DE
D000786:Anger; D001007:Anxiety; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009674:Nova Scotia; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014850:Waiting Lists