Access to Primary Care - a Patient Perspective
Download (PDF 1.27 MB)Summary of report content
From October to December 2023 working in collaboration with the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB) and Sunderland City Council, Healthwatch Sunderland designed and conducted a piece of research involving individuals living in some of the most deprived areas of Sunderland (as identified by the Index of Multiple Deprivation), and those who face greater health inequalities.
The focus of the work was to discover barriers individuals might face in accessing Primary Care services, and what could be changed or improved to reduce these barriers. To support the findings of the work, Healthwatch also spoke to professionals working and supporting those who live in some of the geographical areas identified as key for the work and/or those with greater health inequalities. This work is a priority for all organisations involved and follows work we carried out in 2022, which reported on patients access to GP services. This report covers the findings from the 250 individuals who took the time to speak to us and the information gained via conversations held with 12 professionals from the NHS and the voluntary and community sector.
The main themes identified in the findings are:
Access to GP appointments – Most people continue to struggle to access their GP services due to existing booking systems, and/or due to the lack of available or suitable appointments.
Regular screening and health checks - Most people are happy to attend and would welcome invitations to regular screening and health checkups, however many are not aware that they are now responsible for arranging these themselves.
Community based services - Most people welcome the idea of the introduction of mobile buses, pop up clinics, extended pharmacy services, out of hours appointments, gender specific health clinics and would access them due to their convenience and ease of access.
Awareness of primary care services - Many people weren't aware of the range of services available to them when seeking health support and advice, including when they are open, where they are located, the differences between them and when best to use them.