GP Report 2020: Patients’ experiences of Primary Care in Brighton and Hove

Healthwatch Brighton and Hove carried out a city-wide review of GP services during 2019, gathering feedback from 998 patients across all 40 GP locations in the city. Overall, patient satisfaction remained high, with 89% rating the quality of care from GPs and nurses as good or very good and 84% satisfied with their GP practice overall. Patients particularly valued clinicians who listened, showed empathy, explained treatments clearly and involved them in decisions about their care. 

The report highlighted growing pressure on primary care. The number of GP practices had fallen from 48 in 2015 to 35 by 2019, while the average patient caseload had increased to 2,479 patients per GP compared with a national average of 1,825. Patients reported difficulties booking appointments, particularly by telephone, and many wanted greater continuity of care with the same GP. Waiting times for routine appointments had increased slightly since the previous review, although satisfaction with waiting times had improved. Patients also wanted more evening and weekend appointments. 

Mental health support emerged as an area of concern. Although patients generally felt their GP or nurse responded well when emotional or psychological issues were raised, many felt referral services did not fully meet their needs. Long waiting times for mental health support were common and many respondents felt the support available was too limited or short-term. The review also found low awareness of several preventative services, including health checks for long-term conditions, abdominal aortic aneurysm screening and bowel cancer screening.

Healthwatch concluded that while GP services were delivering high levels of patient satisfaction, increasing demand, practice mergers and workforce pressures were affecting access and continuity of care. Recommendations focused on improving appointment availability, reducing waiting times, supporting continuity with the same GP where possible, increasing awareness of preventative services, improving mental health pathways and strengthening online and telephone access while maintaining patient choice.