Objective: User satisfaction is useful tool to assess the care process, as it provides information on the perceived quality, and can be included as a measurement in the improvement of quality. The Cantabrian Service of Health created the primary care urgent service (PCUS) in 2005, to provide a better service for emergencies, by the rational use of material and human resources, and to satisfy the needs of the population. After a year of its introduction, the Altamira PCUS developed this study, as a means of analysing the opinions of the health users, and to find out their opinions as regards satisfaction and perceived quality, and to see if the needs for which the service was created are satisfied.
Method: Descriptive cross-sectional study performed during March, 2006. The subjects were patients seen in the PCUS. The research technique used was a self-administered questionnaire, based on SERVQUAL and SERVQHOS, sent by post; the outcomes were considered to be the satisfaction and confidence in the PCUS, and independent variables the sociodemographic characteristics of the users.
Results: The patients (81.8%) were generally satisfied with the PCUS service, and 72.5% had confidence in it as a whole.
Conclusions: The setting up of a PCUS has led to an improvement for patients in the Altamira catchment area. This service meets expectations and provides adequate care, as demonstrated by the opinions of the users in the questionnaire, with a high degree of satisfaction (81.8%).