@article { , title = {Compassion or speed, which is a more accurate indicator of healthcare quality in the emergency department from the patients’ perspective}, abstract = {Rationale, aims and objectives: Devising indicators to measure quality of care is challenging in Emergency Departments (ED). It is difficult to measure aspects of quality which are less amenable to measurement; hence waiting time has often been relied on. This study aimed to determine whether patients’ perceptions of empathy are a measurable indicator of quality of care in comparison to waiting time within the ED. Method: A cross sectional survey of patients who attended an ED during a 10 day period was conducted to assess correlation between a measure of empathy (the CARE measure), waiting times and perception of care quality. Data other than waiting times were obtained using a questionnaire completed by patients immediately on completion of treatment. Waiting times were obtained from an existing database. Both waiting times and CARE scores were correlated with responses to a patient satisfaction question using Spearman’s rho. Results: Of the 81 patients who participated the majority reported care to be good (21\%) or very good (75\%). Waiting times varied between 11 minutes and 5 hours 17 minutes. CARE scores ranged from 12 to 50 (mean 41.1). Analysis showed a statistically significant relationship (p}, eissn = {2043-7749}, note = {School: sch\_nur}, pages = {647-655}, publicationstatus = {Published}, url = {http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/7519}, volume = {2}, keyword = {610.73 Nursing, RT Nursing, Population and Public Health Research Group, Emergency department, empathy, quality measurement, quality of healthcare, waiting time}, year = {2024}, author = {Beattie, Michelle and Atherton, Iain and McLennan, Beverley and Lauder, William} }