Patient-reported experiences and satisfaction with healthcare delivery in a female medical ward at a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka

Background: Patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) are essential for assessing healthcare quality, yet evidence from Sri Lanka remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate patient satisfaction and experiences among female inpatients on a medical ward and to identify factors associated with satisfaction.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 184 female patients admitted for ≥24 hours to a medical ward in a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka from January 22nd to February 22nd, 2025. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire adapted from validated international PREMs tools. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression were conducted to identify factors associated with willingness to recommend the hospital.
Results: The mean age was 58.1 years (SD 17.43) with a mean hospital stay of 3.4 days (SD 2.03). Most patients (71.2%) reported no delay in admission, and 85.3% received a bed immediately. While 50.5% rated the ward as “very clean”, 20.7% reported toilet facilities as grossly inadequate.  Regarding dining facilities, 83.2% reported no designated eating area and 72.8% reported the absence of handwash gels. Satisfaction scores were high for doctors (9.35/10, SD 1.84), nurses (9.21/10, SD 1.78) and junior staff (8.60/10, SD 2.34). Overall, 61.3% would recommend the hospital. Univariate analysis showed a significant association between willingness to recommend and satisfaction rates with health staff, cleanliness, and rest, while multivariate logistic regression showed toilet cleanliness as the only independent predictor (OR = 0.51, p = 0.046)
Conclusions: While clinical care provided by healthcare staff received high satisfaction scores, significant improvements are required in infrastructure, sanitation and dining facilities to enhance the patient experience and satisfaction.