Impact of visual art in patient waiting rooms: survey of patients attending a transplant clinic in Dumfries

BACKGROUND: The clinic waiting area in Dumfries received the highest score among nine units offering transplant follow-up (p < 0.001 for differences between units) in the recent Quality Improvement Scotland Renal Transplant Survey. DESIGN: The purpose of the present study was to determine which aspects of the Dumfries waiting area patients considered important to their outpatient experience. METHODS: We posted a questionnaire to all 44 renal transplant patients attending the Dumfries Renal Unit in October 2009 in which we asked patients to rate seven aspects of their clinic environment on a scale from 1 (not at all important) to 5 (very important). These were, in random order, comfy chairs, magazines and puzzle books, paintings on the wall, a 42-inch plasma screen TV, views from the windows, potted plants and computers with Internet access. RESULTS: Thirty-nine (89%) patients responded. The most highly rated feature of our clinic waiting room was the comfy chairs with an average score of 4.4. This was followed by the magazines and puzzle books (3.6), the plasma screen TV (3.6) and the paintings on the walls (3.4). The views from the windows (3.1), the computer (3.0) and the potted plants (2.9) were less highly rated. Respondents expressed a preference for landscapes/nature scenes (84%) and paintings of animals/birds (84%). Fewer wished to look at abstract paintings (27%) or portraits (24%). CONCLUSION: The QIS transplant survey has shown large differences in the quality of the environment of the transplant follow-up clinics in Scotland. Our survey of renal transplant patients attending the Dumfries Renal Unit suggests that the paintings we chose to display in our clinic waiting room contributed positively to their outpatient experience.