Short waiting times, patient satisfaction and slight increase in mortality at CMC

WILLEMSTAD – Recently Performance figures from the Curaçao Medical Center (CMC) for September 2024 show that waiting times for appointments at outpatient clinics remain relatively short. Patient satisfaction shows stable results, despite a slight decrease in care ratings. However, the hospital has seen an increase in death rates.

According to the data, nearly 1,800 people visited the emergency department in September, a slight increase from August, when there were just under 1,750 visitors. More than half of these patients referred themselves, the remainder were referred by a general practitioner or specialist.

Patient satisfaction with care in hospital departments, measured via surveys, showed a slight decline in September. The average rating for clinical departments was 8.4, slightly lower than the 8.6 in August.

This decrease is mainly influenced by lower scores in areas such as information provision and perceived waiting times for operations. On the other hand, the outpatient clinics saw their average rating increase from 8.5 to 8.6. Communication with doctors and timely provision of information received higher marks from patients.

Waiting times for appointments at outpatient clinics remain short. The hospital strives to keep the maximum waiting times within four weeks and achieves this for most specialties, such as dermatology, cardiology and ophthalmology. However, wait times for surgeries vary by specialty, with orthopedics experiencing significantly longer wait times.

A major concern is the increase in the death rate, which rose to 2.87% in September, compared to 2.49% in August.

This is attributed to the fact that more seriously ill patients are admitted. The hospital emphasizes that the death rates are close to each other checked and measures are taken to ensure continuity of care.

Radiology and operations

Nearly 325 MRI scans were made in September, an increase compared to 55 in August. The number of CT scans has also increased from more than 875 in August to more than 1,000 in September.

The number of operations, including caesarean sections, remained stable: 533 in August and 531 in September. The average length of stay of admitted patients remained stable at 2.5 days in both months.