Public versus private healthcare – Views of doctors, nurses and the public

ABSTRACT

Objective: The study investigates the perception of publicvs private healthcare among doctors, nurses and the publicin Trinidad.Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study wasconducted on a sample of 1222 persons. Respondents wereasked via interviewer-administered questionnaire whichhealthcare system (public or private) they would chooseand why, if ability to pay was not a factor. They were alsoasked to state what in their view would improve thesystems. The data collected were subject to the Chisquaredtest and Fisher’s exact test to determine anysignificant associations.Results: One thousand two hundred and twenty-twopersons were interviewed (response rate 89%). Themajority of all groups would choose private healthcare (÷2= 238.06, df = 7, p-value = 0.000). The majority of nonmedicalgroups perceived private care to be faster andbetter (p = 0.000); doctors would like more accountabilityin private settings and more drugs and equipment in thepublic sector, while non-clinical groups wanted cheaperprivate care (p = 0.000).Conclusion: The publicly funded healthcare system seemsto be falling short on some quality standards, thus contravening a fundamental human right. The publicshould be informed when making a decision to opt forprivate care that the same doctors often work in bothsettings. For critical care, the public institutions have abetter staff complement, although this study highlightedthe need for more drugs and better equipment. Thegovernment needs to look closer at the reasons all groups,including doctors and nurses, would choose privatehealthcare.