The Hospital Authority will launch a patient satisfaction survey in June, covering 5,000 patients in 25 public hospitals. The study will be completed by year's end.

The survey will enable the authority to gauge patient needs, formulate and implement effective treatment plans and healthcare policies, and foster closer ties with patients to help the body improve service quality.

Through a systemic approach, patients' perceptions, satisfaction, concerns and expectations in specific areas of service delivery during their hospital stay will be studied.

These include accessibility and convenience, cleanliness and comfort of the physical hospital setting, food quality, the mechanism for handling dissatisfaction, staff attitude and treatment co-ordination.