The Practice has been asked to discuss with our Patient Representative Group(PRG) the results of the 2014 patient survey we carried out and formulate some actions to take forward over the coming year and repeat this as on ongoing process. It should be noted that the practice appreciates the way our patients have supported our attempts to provide an excellent service and we have taken on board the comments and suggestions and have agreed a plan with the Patient Representative Group(PRG).
The main points from the survey
- The practice used a standard approved patient questionnaire in order to seek the views of a sample of its patient population who attended the surgery during the first quarter of 2014. The results were collated and circulated in the practice.
- The PRG were asked to consider the report produced from the survey and their opinions and suggestions were fed back to the practice via a questionnaire. Regular quarterly meetings will continue to be held which will allow further consideration of the results of the survey. Through this feedback the practice can agree an action plan for the coming year which will consider the areas the patients survey suggested needed to be considered.
- The PRG was happy with the patient survey report and suggested that the practice was well respected and the survey showed the practice in a good light and in particular the PRG felt we performed well in these areas;
- access to the practice over the telephone and at reception,
- the care and treatment given and
- the services provided by the practice for its patients.
| 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | ||
| GPAQ benchmark | ||||
| Q2. Satisfaction with receptionists | 77 | 74 | 80 | 75 |
| Q3a. Satisfaction with opening hours | 67 | 71 | 79 | 77 |
| Q4b. Satisfaction with availability of particular doctor | 60 | 55 | 71 | 75 |
| Q5b. Satisfaction with availability of any doctor | 69 | 63 | 70 | 63 |
| Q7b. Satisfaction with waiting times at practice | 57 | 60 | 60 | 68 |
| Q8a. Satisfaction with phoning through to practice | 59 | 71 | 78 | 69 |
| Q8b. Satisfaction with phoning through to doctor for advice | 61 | 57 | 73 | 74 |
| Q9b. Satisfaction with continuity of care | 69 | 68 | 73 | 66 |
| Q10a. Satisfaction with doctor’s questioning | 81 | 80 | 92 | 77 |
| Q10b. Satisfaction with how well doctor listens | 84 | 82 | 91 | 89 |
| Q10c. Satisfaction with how well doctor puts patient at ease | 84 | 81 | 98 | 90 |
| Q10d. Satisfaction with how much doctor involves patient | 81 | 80 | 95 | 91 |
| Q10e. Satisfaction with doctor’s explanations | 83 | 85 | 92 | 90 |
| Q10f. Satisfaction with time doctor spends | 80 | 78 | 91 | 91 |
| Q10g. Satisfaction with doctor’s patience | 84 | 80 | 88 | 88 |
| Q10h. Satisfaction with doctor’s caring and concern | 84 | 79 | 89 | 90 |
| Q11a. Ability to understand problem after visiting doctor | 69 | 60 | 85 | 90 |
| Q11b. Ability to cope with problem after visiting doctor | 66 | 54 | 79 | 76 |
| Q11c. Ability to keep healthy after visiting doctor | 61 | 54 | 83 | 70 |
| Q12. Overall satisfaction with practice | 62 | 84 | 92 | 65 |
- The table above shows good patient satisfaction levels across the full range of services, opening hours, waiting times and care given which all culminates in a very high overall satisfaction with the practice as shown by the responses to Question 12. There are some areas where individual scores are lower than in previous years and against the benchmark but in a recent period where we had two full time GP’s on long term sick the practice did have to employ locum cover. This may also reflect why continuity of care dipped this year..
- Waiting times whilst at the practice had improved since last year We note that the patients feel we need to improve in some areas and we have agreed an action plan with our PRG to tackle this.
We discussed the report with the PRG who gave us this feedback :
“The survey results are still good overall, although there are some areas for improvement”
“The survey is an excellent tool for the patients to express any praise or concern for their experience.”
The results can be used to improve areas of concern and also maintain good practice”
“Excellent results overall and show the patients have confidence with their GP”
“Still representative of a well run practice”
“The slightly lower results in some areas may be a result of increased patient expectations”
“There is overall very high satisfaction with the practice”
“Additional hours requested may be a result of patients not understanding how to access services when the practice is closed”
This feedback was received into the practice in March 2014.
In the area of concern last year the practice has improved its communication with the patients with the intention of helping them decide when they should attend the practice and how to avoid using other services for inappropriate reasons. The practice agreed with the PRG that the they would target communication with the over 65’s in this area.
| 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |
| Q3b. Additional hours requested | Number of responses | ||
| Mornings | 17 | 0 | 5 |
| Lunchtime | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Evenings | 4 | 4 | 22 |
| Weekends | 8 | 4 | 32 |
| None | 32 | 48 | 101 |
- The above table shows that the vast majority of respondents were satisfied with our opening hours as also shown by the response to Question 3a in the top table.
- Some patients did suggest that the practice opened at weekends so we discussed this with the patient group.
Previously the PRG had asked us to communicate to the elderly patients how they access our services more appropriately and the result last year was that approx 10% of patients wished us to open on a weekend as against the previous years 20%. The current survey shows 12% wanted weekend opening and we note that some of the comments received suggested that as patients worked away they recognized their request for this was in relation to their work status.
- The patient survey asked for Mornings and Evenings to be provided with the emphasis on mornings to be provided. This reflects the nature of our population who mostly travel to away from the practice area to work and would thus prefer to be seen in the morning on their way to work.
- The PRG agreed that the practice was meeting this request already but should take note if considering any change to the services provided.
The PRG have asked the practice to consider why satisfaction with the availability of a doctor is lower compared to the other very high scores.
The PRG have asked us to consider why the patients feel the doctor / patient communication could be improved. The PRG have suggested that we try to improve the use of patient leaflets and to that end the GP’s have agreed to this and the practice will also promote the use of www.patient.co.uk
The PRG have asked us to maintain our performance based on this survey and we will once again provide patient communication to help them better understand how to access our services and help reduce some of the anxiety over accessing the practice. We will also continue to promote the use of booking appointments online which should help ease telephone congestion at busy times.
The PRG has asked us to continue to monitor the needs of the elderly in our provision of services as they are the highest responders to our surveys. This ties in with our continued agreement to direct communication to them in order to help them access our survey.
The practice is happy to consider these elements and work towards an improvement in these areas whilst maintaining its high performance in the other areas.
- The practice will communicate this report to NHS England so that it is aware that the PRG reviewed the results and the NHS England understands that we will be acting on the suggestions made. Note should be made that a sample of the feedback has been used here in order to provide proof that the PRG did provide feedback on the 2014 survey and that was received into the practice in March 2014.
The patient survey will be repeated in another year and the practice will hope to have improved its communications so that the elderly population feel more comfortable with how to access care throughout the weekend and patients understand their care a little bit better.
Just as a reminder, this is how patients can access our service
- The practice reception is open from 8:30am to 5:30pm every day and all telephone calls to the practice should be made by dialling (0191) 5193000
- Please ask reception how to register for Emis Access which will allow you to book appointments and order prescriptions over the internet.
- Surgeries are by appointment only and made by telephone, in person or ask at reception for online appointment booking.
- If your problem is an emergency tell the receptionist and you will be seen the same day.
- You may see any doctor you choose, but we do suggest you see the same doctor whenever possible.
- If you would like your child to be examined, please loosen outer garments whilst waiting to see the doctor.
- If you have a minor ailment please book an appointment with our Nurse Practitioner.
- The practice provides some out of hours access as agreed with the PCT and are available from 7 to 8am on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings; we are also available between 6 and 7pm every Thursday evening and every other Monday evening. Please contact our reception to book your appointment.
This is how we developed our Patient Representative Group (PRG)
- The practice has a PRG made up of male and female members of both working and retirement age who come from across the whole of the area covered by the practice.
- The PRG supports the principles of Equal Opportunities and any member of the practice list is welcome to join
- The practice advertises in the practice waiting room for any registered patient to join the representative group and this is still open to patients willing to join the group and help in the development of the practice. The clinicians asked some of the patients they were attending to if they would like to consider becoming a member of the PRG.
- At the outset of this process we agreed with the PRG that we would use the GPAQ questionnaire available to all practices http://www.gpaq.info/