Non-urgent care survey report

Healthwatch Devon conducted a survey to better understand people’s experiences of accessing non-urgent care services. They conducted the survey from the 14th of March to the 23rd of April 2014. The team used an online survey and distributed a hard copy of the survey. They received a total of 513 survey responses. A further 30 people shared their experiences using the Healthwatch Devon speak out survey. This feedback was also incorporated into the report.

The report identified several issues that contributed to a lack of GP accessibility. GP accessibility was a common underlying problem that affected people’s experiences with non-urgent care. The main issues identified were rigid booking systems, not being able to make an appointment on the phone, not being able to see their GP of choice on the day, long waiting times to see a GP and a problem with staff attitude and communication. The survey also found that many people did not know about alternatives to visiting their GP.

The report made six recommendations. Three of the recommendations related to GP accessibility. The report also recommended reviewing how alternatives are communicated to the public. It was also recommended that the feedback included in this report be fed into the redesign of the out of hours service in Devon and the Strategic Framework for Community Services.

The report did not include responses from non-urgent care providers.