EoC hospitals in Ticino: ANQ research detects lights and shadows (cross-border guide)

Context

In brief

• The ANQ 2025 survey involves 1,821 patients discharged from EOC hospitals
• 75% report a positive experience, in line with the Swiss average
• Critical issues: insufficient communication during admission wait times
• Larger hospitals (Lugano, Bellinzona) report more problems

Key facts

• What: National survey on the quality of hospital stays (ANQ)
• When: Patients discharged September-November 2025
• Where: Hospitals of the Ente ospedaliero cantonale (EOC), Ticino
• Who: ANQ (national quality control body) + Adriana Degiorgi (head of EOC Quality Service)
• Sample: 1,821 EOC patients out of 47,000 total in 186 Swiss facilities
• Satisfaction: 75% positive experience
• Main critical issue: Communication during admission wait times

The national ANQ research confirms an overall positive result for the Ticino Ente ospedaliero cantonale (EOC): three out of four patients report a positive experience of the stay, aligning with the Swiss average. But the study highlights a critical area for intervention: communication during wait times in the admission phase.

The survey involved 47,000 patients from 186 Swiss facilities, including 1,821 people discharged from EOC hospitals between September and November 2025. For the first time, the national questionnaire changed perspective, moving from measuring satisfaction to evaluating the patient's experience, "from admission to discharge," according to Adriana Degiorgi, head of the EOC Quality and Risk Service.

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Operational details

Those who live in Italy and work in Ticino with Permit G, or who choose to access Ticino's healthcare services through their own health insurance, should consider these data when evaluating their expected hospital experience. The research highlights that, although the overall level is satisfactory, communication issues can negatively impact the perception of those already in a vulnerable situation during hospitalization or surgery. The hospital experience is not just a medical issue, but also an organizational and psychological one. When the patient does not receive communication about delays, anxiety increases and trust in the system erodes. For the cross-border worker who lives in Italy but works in Ticino, this communication issue becomes even more relevant: any postponements of interventions or prolonged waits require coordinating days off work, cross-border travel, and managing absence from the Italian territory. ### Larger Hospitals, Greater Challenges The results are not uniform across different EOC sites. The greatest challenges emerge in the larger hospitals: Bellinzona and Lugano, which manage a wider caseload and patients with more complex clinical situations. Degiorgi points out that this trend is not exclusive to Ticino: "We see it at the Swiss level across the entire survey: university hospitals or large hospitals often fare a bit worse compared to the Swiss benchmark." The organizational complexity of large hospitals—with more numerous departments, more patients hospitalized simultaneously, more surgical procedures—partly explains this discrepancy. But the risk is that the patient experience worsens precisely in hospitals where medical complexity is highest and where transparent communication would be most important. ### Data from Smaller Hospitals Aquarossa and Faido do not appear in the comparative analysis: overall, they have recorded fewer than 20 completed questionnaires, an insufficient number to derive statistically comparable results. However, the absence of evident issues in smaller hospitals suggests that more direct communication and less congested logistics could have positive effects on patient perception. The ANQ research thus provides a two-speed snapshot of the Canton of Ticino: the territory is in line with the national average, but the gap between large and small hospitals reflects a broader organizational challenge of the Swiss healthcare system.

Key points

How to intervene as a patient

If during a stay in an EOC hospital you encounter communication problems during waiting times – no updates on times, unexplained delays, uncertainty about procedures – you have the right to report it. The ANQ survey works precisely this way: it collects direct experiences from patients to push managers to improve service quality.

EOC, based on this study, has already recognized that "we want and must work" on communication during the admission phase. Degiorgi stated that the interventions must specifically address: waiting times communicated in advance and frequently updated throughout the day; staff trained to inform the patient about unexpected developments (postponements of interventions, delays, transfers between departments); clear and transparent procedures for ordinary hospitalization, emergency hospitalization, and surgical procedures.

Recording your experience

If you have recently been hospitalized in an EOC hospital (Lugano, Bellinzona, Locarno, Mendrisio, Aquarossa, Faido), you may have received – or will receive in the coming months – the ANQ questionnaire. It is completely anonymous and directly contributes to these quality monitoring studies. It is not just a "marketing survey": it is a federal tool that feeds the decisions of managers.

In the meantime, document your own experience: note down times, communications received, moments of uncertainty. If communication has been poor, report it to the department where you were hospitalized or to the central administration of EOC. The Quality and Risk Service, coordinated by Degiorgi, exists precisely to collect and act on these observations.

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