Background This study compared patient experiences of care provided by emergency care practitioners (ECPs) and usual providers in different emergency and urgent care settings.

Methods A self-completed postal questionnaire study as part of a pragmatic quasi experimental trial in five paired sites with intervention (ECP) services matched with control (usual provider) services.

Results A greater percentage of ECP patients reported being very satisfied with overall care in all five pairs of sites. In three pairs, these percentage differences were statistically significant.

Conclusions Users of ECP services were more likely to be highly satisfied with overall care than usual provider patients in the study settings.