Healthwatch Bexley Report - General Practitioners (GP) survey – Cairngall Surgery This report summarises the findings of an Enter and View patient survey carried out by an authorised representative of Healthwatch Bexley at Cairngall Surgery on 3th July 2014. The Government made provision for ‘Enter and View’ allowing authorised representatives of Healthwatch to enter premises to observe the nature and quality of services. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 and associated (draft) Regulations replicate the ‘Enter and View’ provision for Healthwatch. Here is a link to the legislation http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/7/section/186/enacted The aim of the survey was to collect feedback from patients attending the GP practice on that day, to assess to what extent patients are satisfied with the nature and quality of service provided. A letter informing the Surgery of the visit was sent out one week prior to the appointment. This report will feed into a larger report covering GP services across the borough. A total of 16 questionnaires were completed. 1. Quantitative results of the survey 1.1 The appointment system Most of the respondents reported using a variety of means to book an appointment, with 42% of patients using the telephone to make an appointment, along with 33% of respondents making appointments in person and 25% booking appointments online. More than half (63%) of the respondents reported that they were unable to obtain an appointment ‘fairly’ quickly, usually within 2 working days, and the most cited reason for this was a ‘lack of available appointments’ (87%), along with unsuitable appointment times. 25% of the remaining respondents, reported being able to receive an appointment within this time frame, whilst 13% cannot recall either way. The majority of respondents (63%) are ‘fairly’ or ‘very’ satisfied with the opening times of the surgery, with 31% reporting being ‘very’ 1 dissatisfied with the opening hours, whilst the remainder (6%) of respondents stating being ‘neither satisfied nor dissatisfied’. 69% of patients reported being ‘fairly’ or ‘very’ satisfied with the appointment system, whereas 31% reported being ‘fairly’ or ‘very’ dissatisfied with the system. 56% of patients reported being able to book appointments with a GP or nurse more than 2 weekdays in advance, although 44% stated they were unable to do so. When asked about a complaints procedure for patients, 6% of the respondents were aware of a complaints procedure, whereas 93% were unaware of how to go about such proceedings. 1.2 Experiences of booking appointments, accessing the GP or nurse and during consultation 60% of respondents stated it is ‘fairly’ or ‘very’ difficult to get through to the surgery on the telephone, with 68% reporting being unable to speak to a doctor or nurse on the telephone. However, 75% of respondents reported that obtaining test results by telephone was on the whole fairly easy. During consultation with a GP, 67% of respondents reported being treated ‘very’ and ‘fairly’ well, across a whole range of questions such as: giving enough time, asking about symptoms, listening, explaining tests and treatments, involving patients in decisions about their care, treating patients with care and concerns and taking patients problems seriously. However, 21 % of respondents reported being treated ‘fairly’ or ‘very’ poorly, whilst 12% stated being ‘neither satisfied nor dissatisfied’ with the consultation. When asked about the reception staff, 45% of respondents reported reception staff being: polite, good at listening, helpful and respectful of patient’s confidentiality, although 55% of respondents felt this was not the case. 1.3 The sample 6% of the respondents require assistance to access the GP surgery, but did not specify in what way. 19% reported having a caring responsibility in the household for someone with a long standing health condition or disability. 33% of respondents stated they perceive themselves to have a disability. 42 % of respondents walk to the GP surgery, with 53% travelling by car and 5% using public transport. 2 The majority of respondents are female (80%) and 87% of the respondents are reported being of white ethnicity and 13% of black ethnicity. The age group of the sample is as follows: 0-18yrs (0%) 18-24yrs (6.5%) 25-34yrs 12.5%) 35-44yrs (19%) 45-54yrs (31%) 55-64yrs (6.5%) 65-74yrs (12.5%) 75+ (12.5%). 2. Qualitative feedback of the survey The questionnaire provided the opportunity for the respondents to suggest one thing they would change about the GP surgery, and the comments generally related to ‘friendlier reception staff’ and ‘more staff answering the telephones’, along with ‘appointments during evenings and weekends’ and a ‘holistic personal approach’ and consistency of seeing the same GP. Additional comments refer to ‘separate reception area’ to protect patient’s confidentiality. 3. Additional comments and feedback The overall impression of the surgery is that it is understaffed, with only one receptionist on duty at any given time. This results in telephones not being answered, along with limited opening hours, and early and late appointments are unavailable for workers, which leads to waiting times for up to two weeks for appointments. The Receptionist and GP in charge on the day of the visit had not been informed of the visit despite a letter notifying them of the visit being sent a week prior to the visit. The surgery was reported as clean. 4. Recommendations An increase in reception staffing, which would improve patient experience, enabling phones to be answered promptly. Increase in availability of early morning and evening appointments so that workers are able to access their GP. Advertise complaint procedure in patient waiting area. 3