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Ambulance New Brunswick Patients Remain Highly Satisfied with its Services

ANB receives remarkably high scores for the fourth year in a row.

MONCTON, NB – A recent survey (conducted by MarketQuest Omnifacts Research, MQO Research) among New Brunswick patients who used ambulance services showed patients continue to be very satisfied with the services offered by Ambulance New Brunswick (ANB).

In this fourth annual survey, commissioned by New Brunswick EMS, ANB patients expressed an overall satisfaction rating of 9.55 on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 representing the highest level of satisfaction. Since ANB’s creation more than four years ago, overall satisfaction ratings have always been above 9.46 on a scale of 1 to 10. These strong and steady satisfaction scores are evident across all regions and types of calls.

“The results from this survey continue to illustrate the remarkable level of service provided by ANB,” said Craig Wight, Vice-President of MarketQuest Omnifacts. “While it’s hard to envision any better ratings, satisfaction measures show improvements, confirming not only commitment to quality service, but also a continued drive to improve. The entire ambulance service is a highly satisfactory experience for New Brunswickers,” continues Wight.

The survey distinguishes the many different aspects of the ambulance service from the time the call for an ambulance was placed, to the telephone conversation with the emergency medical dispatcher, the care and treatment received when the paramedics arrived on-site, the care and treatment received during the ambulance trip, and finally, the way paramedics handled the patient’s admission at their destination.

"I’m very proud of the dedication and professionalism of our ANB employees. They deliver a very high quality ambulance service to New Brunswickers and this survey, for the 4th year in a row, confirms that,” said Alan Stephen, Ambulance New Brunswick’s President and CEO.

The top three ratings in 2011 were:

• Politeness and courtesy of the emergency medical dispatcher (9.87 out of 10)
• Cleanliness of the vehicle and medical equipment (9.82 out of 10)
• Courtesy of the paramedic (9.81 out of 10)

On a scale of 1 to 10, patients also expressed very high levels of satisfaction, by rating at nine or above different components of the ambulance service, for example:

• 9.77 for the way the paramedic protected the privacy of the patient (9.71 in 2010)
• 9.70 for how well the paramedic listened to the patient (9.55 in 2010)
• 9.76 for the professionalism of the paramedic (9.69 in 2010)
• 9.75 for the care and treatment provided during the trip (9.72 in 2010)
• 9.75 for the professionalism of the emergency medical dispatcher (9.70 in 2010)
• 9.75 for the helpfulness of the emergency medical dispatcher (9.75 in 2010)

Of all the survey topics, the comfort of the ambulance trip is the only item to come in below 9.0 at 8.81.

According to the research, there were no significant differences in the satisfaction levels of urban and rural respondents.

The research, which has an overall margin of error of +/- 3.5%, 19 times out of 20, was completed in ANB’s four administrative regions in English and French. The survey is based on a total of 800 telephone interviews, which were carried out in January, May, October 2011 and January 2012. Twelve per cent of the total sample was aged 18 to 34, 38% was 35 to 64, 30% was 65 to 79 and 20% was 80 years or more.

About Ambulance New Brunswick
Ambulance New Brunswick was created by the Government of New Brunswick in December 2007 to deliver a world-class land, air and emergency dispatch ambulance service throughout the province. Today, Ambulance New Brunswick has more than 900 paramedics stationed across the province. Every year, they respond to nearly 100,000 calls. The air ambulance service performs more than 500 emergency calls every year transporting sick and injured patients to specialized hospital care across the Maritimes and as far as Toronto and Montreal.

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