The renovation of an emergency department in Cork’s maternity hospital affords patients a greater sense of privacy, a study has found. Researchers found that only around one in five patients claimed they had adequate privacy while attending the emergency department in Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH). Overall, 21% of patients felt the layout of the emergency department at CUMH was adequate prior to the renovations but the figure rose to 89% after physical changes to the area. Almost half of all women admitted they had overheard a conversation about themselves or another patient during their time in the emergency department before the changes. Lucia Hartigan, one of the authors of the report, said the findings demonstrated that patients’ perception of privacy and confidentiality have been significantly improved by a change of environment after the refurbishment of the emergency department at CUMH.

Source: Irish Examiner January 05, 2019 04:30 UTC