85 per cent of patients satisfied with GP services

NHS England has announced the results of its survey suggesting that the proportion of patients who rate their overall experience of their GP surgery as good remains high at 85 per cent, but has showed a slight decline overall.

The NHS England’s summary said: “The majority of patients (84.9 per cent) rate their overall experience of their GP surgery as good, with more than two in five (42.7 per cent) rating their experience as ‘very good’. Compared to 2014, the proportion of patients who rate their experience as good continues to decline, down by 0.3 percent from 85.2 per cent.”

The survey also revealed that 78 per cent recommended their GP surgery to other patients (a 0.4 per cent increase), 91.9 per cent have confidence and trust in the last GP they saw (a decrease of 0.3 per cent), 85 per cent were able to get an appointment last time they tried (a decrease of 0.4 per cent), 92 per cent of patients said their appointment was convenient for them (a 0.1 per cent increase) and 75 per cent were satisfied with GP opening times.

Susan Robinson, National Director of Healthwatch England, said: “The high satisfaction rates reported by the GP patient survey mirror much of what we hear from the public, but when local Healthwatch look deeper into people’s experiences they tell us there is room for improvement.

“Our research has shown a huge appetite amongst the public to work with GPs and other health professionals to revolutionise the way access to primary care works, with patients looking for more online services, self-referrals for services such as physiotherapy and to be able to make better use of community pharmacists.

“Now is the time for the health service to work with patients as partners to redesign services and ensure every one of us is able to access the right care when we need it.”

However, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the General Practitioner Committee (GPC), said the figures demonstrated that ’there is still overwhelming satisfaction with GP services’.

He said: “This is quite extraordinary feedback given the unprecedented pressures on general practice of soaring workload, falling resources and staff shortages. GPs are working harder than ever before to deliver the best for their patients, but this is not sustainable.

“Many GP practices are struggling just to maintain existing services. The government needs to provide general practice with the resources, staff and support it needs to continue to deliver high quality care to patients.”