Magister Curationis - MCur / Academic hospitals do recognise that all patients have basic human needs. Nurses have been obliged to pay attention to conditions that destabilise patient's health. An academic hospital in the Western Cape is dedicated to living up to its vision to deliver excellent nursing services, which include the fulfilment of the basic needs of patients who are making use of surgical emergency department. Emergency surgical departments should be created in a manner that provides safety and comfort to patients. Patient satisfaction is influenced by the manner in which their expectations about the successful addressing of their basic needs are met. At the moment, the extent of meeting these basic needs during the delivery of nursing care in the surgical emergency department of the academic hospital is unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the perceptions of patients about the fulfilment of their basic needs during nursing care in a surgical emergency department at an academic hospital in the Western Cape. The study was conducted according to a quantitative non-experimental descriptive survey design. A convenience sampling method was used to select patients (n = 150) after they were discharged from a surgical emergency department. A self-administered questionnaire was compiled within the framework of Alderfer's theory, with closed and a few open questions, that was for distribution to respondents. Descriptive statistics were extracted. The responses to items were indicated on a continuum starting at 1 (never) to 7 (always) on a 5-point Likert scale. Respondents signed informed consent before they completed the instrument in a private room that took around 30 minutes. In this study, validity and reliability were maintained during the research process, and ethical principles were adhered to. Descriptive data was presented through mean values and standard deviations and a factor analysis performed. The findings were presented according to six factors that indicated that the responses varied on the basic existence, relatedness and growth needs of patients in a surgical emergency unit. From the findings, recommendation was described for the operational nursing managers in the surgical emergency department to take action during addressing patients' basic needs in the delivery of nursing care. It can be concluded that patients perceive that many of their basic needs are not being met while receiving surgical emergency care.