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Unlabelled: Patients' satisfaction is an important element of quality of care. Only few studies assessed patients satisfaction during emergency care., Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the patients' perception of the quality of care during emergencies and their satisfaction of the patient-nurse interaction., Population: Stratified sample of 280 patients cared for by ambulance services between October and December 2002. Patients with red codes were excluded., Methods: Two focus groups, one with nurses and one with citizens, were organised to identify items relevant for patients' satisfaction. A 14 items questionnaire was designed to explore 3 areas; quality of interpersonal care, efficiency and comfort; technical area. Patients were interviewed by phone and asked to express their level of agreement with each item (1 no agreement-5 perfect agreement)., Results: 272 patients (97.1%) answered the questionnaire. The technical area (effectiveness of treatment and waiting time) and efficiency-comfort (information by phone, comfort of the chair-stretcher, waiting times for the call) reported a high-very high satisfaction (74.3 and 72.2) while the satisfaction for the quality of the interpersonal care (information on treatments, reassurance, respect of the significant persons) was lower, 67.6%., Conclusion: Patients are able to distinguish several dimensions of care. The satisfaction is higher for the technical components of care thus leaving space for improvement of interpersonal care during emergencies.