Mystery Shopping: Reviewing GP practice websites in and around Rye, East Sussex

This report is a review of the content, accessibility and navigability of GP practice websites at six GP practices in East Sussex and one in Kent. The review was done in September 2023 to support Healthwatch East Sussex’s ‘Rye Listening Tour’. This review builds on an earlier piece of work done by Healthwatch East Sussex in late 2021, which identified a wide variation in the quality, clarity and presentation of information, as well as accessibility and ease of navigation.

During September 2023, seven Healthwatch volunteers of varying ages and IT capabilities were supported by staff to undertake a mystery shopping review of six GP practice websites. Websites were assessed one: quality of information, clarity of information, ease of navigation, and presentation of information.

The review found all six websites to perform well against the assessment criteria. The websites were found to be attractive, engaging and user friendly, with comprehensive context. Overall, the findings represent and improvement on the 2021 findings.

However, there were some areas for improvement, such as signposting to other health, care and community services, and what to do when the surgery is closed. The review also found that website adaptations for needs such as visual impairment were not very identifiable, and that a key area for consideration is ensuring website are compatible with mobile devices.