What do patients expect from a psychiatric department at a general hospital?

Objective: The study aimed to investigate the expectations of patients of a psychiatric department at a general hospital regarding their inpatient care. Methods: At a key day 131 patients were surveyed by a questionnaire comprising 39 items. The response rate was 70% (n = 91). Results: The patients assign most importance to successful treatment, empathic doctors, preservation of human rights, competent doctors, and friendly staff. The expectations of patients of a psychiatric department are similar to those of patients of a psychiatric state hospital. Patients' expectations are not confounded with the psychiatric disorder, psychopathology, subjective feeling, heaviness of illness, or psychosocial functioning. The internal consistency is alpha = 0.93. Conclusions: The questionnaire is suitable for valid and reliable measuring the expectations of both patients of a psychiatric department and patients of a psychiatric state hospital when evaluating patient's satisfaction.