GP Access in Cornwall
Download (PDF 1.41 MB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Cornwall launched a survey in December 2017 in order to explore Cornwall residents' experience of accessing an appointment with a GP. They worked collaboratively with Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group to develop the survey which received over 2000 responses in just over one month.
The survey was focussed on peoples experiences of accessing a routine, non-emergency, appointment as this was the biggest concern for residents in feedback gathered throughout 2017. It also asked about people's preferences in order to inform future service provision decisions.
The key findings were that most people used the telephone to call and book appointments and the call-back triage system worked well for some, but was a source of frustration for people who were less able to freely answer their phone when their call was returned by the practice.
The survey found that there was variation in the wait to see a Dr, although there appeared to be undue pressure to see the Dr on the same day. Only 10% of respondents wanted to book an appointment on the same day with around half wanting to be able to book an appointment several days later. These people reported that many appointments were only offered for the day on which people called and they would have to call back on the day they wanted the appointment and try to get a time that suited. People aged between 25 and 64 were more likely to find the appointments they were given were not convenient.
There were also issues with the continuity of care as people found it difficult to get an appointment with their preferred Doctor. It was also reported that patients who required regular appointments for long term conditions, or who had recently been discharged from hospital, found it difficult to access an appointment, or to pre-book an appointment.
The report makes eleven recommendations regarding the issues raised and states that Healthwatch Cornwall will work with Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group to understand how the recommendations will be taken forward. Healthwatch Cornwall advise that they will provide updates as the project progresses and intend to review the impact on patient experience.