Young People's GP Survey Report: Worcestershire
Download (PDF 673.26 KB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Worcestershire and Young Solutions carried out a survey with 119 young people age 13 to 19, to find out what they think about going to the Doctors.
The survey was titled Young People’s GP Access and Complaints Survey and covered three areas:
- making appointments
- visiting the surgery
- knowing how to make a complaint
The survey was open to all young people aged 13 – 19 in Worcestershire and was promoted widely through Young Solutions newsletters, website, their members, local forums, Healthwatch Worcestershire contacts, newspapers, social media and schools.
In summary, almost all of those who responded had a doctor’s and were happy with the service they receive. The majority of respondents made appointments by phone and a third of young people had the appointment made for them by a parent or carer. More than half of respondents felt it would be easier for them to see a doctor or nurse if appointments were available at evenings or weekends. Several comments were made about the difficulty in getting appointments when needed or with a specific doctor.
Recommendations:
1. GP practices could consider how they promote different appointment booking systems to make sure young people know what is available and if they can make other appointment systems available where they don’t exist
e.g. online bookings.
2. GP practices could have more appointments available out of school hours or at other locations accessed by young people e.g. schools/colleges.
3. GP practices should consider how they ensure that health workers (doctors, nurses, receptionists) communicate with young people in an appropriate way; talking directly to them, explaining complicated information and checking for understanding.
4. GP practices should ensure they have a clear comments and complaints system which is accessible to all and that patients are aware of it, in both paper form and online.
5. GP practices could consider other means to encourage feedback from patients, such as a text after the appointment or a paper or online survey.
6. GP practices could consider using different methods to communicate with young people, such as using text or email.