85 per cent of patients positive about GPs

A new survey has shown that the majority of people are positive about their GP care, with confidence and trust remaining high.

The GP Patient Survey 2017 revealed that, of the 800,000 respondents, 84.3 per cent were able to get an appointment the last time they tried, while 68 per cent claim it is very or fairly easy to get through to someone at their GP surgery on the phone.

Assessing patient’s experience of healthcare services provided by GP surgeries, the survey also highlighted that confidence and trust in GPs remains high at 91.9 per cent, with 77.4 per cent stating that they would recommend their GP surgery to someone who has just moved to the local area.

There is, however, room for improvement, with 11.3 per cent unable to get an appointment, marking an increase of 0.5 per cent on the 2016 figure. The number of patients reporting they can usually see their preferred GP also dropped slightly by 2.4 per cent on the 2016 figure, setting at 46.2 per cent.

Dr Arvind Madan, director of Primary Care for NHS England, said: “General Practice is the foundation of the NHS and this survey shows patients appreciate the fantastic job GPs and the wider primary care work force are doing in times of real pressure with more patients having increasingly complex conditions

“The findings also reinforce the case for investing in and strengthening primary care. We are just a year into the General Practice Forward View, a five year plan committed to increasing investment in improving services culminating in an extra £2.4 billion a year by 2020/21 to support primary care that will stabilise and transform general practice, manage demand on services and expand the workforce. Access to GPs is already expanding with 17 million people now able to get an appointment in the evening and at weekends, and everyone will be able to by March 2019.”