Jarrow GP Patient List Focus Group

Healthwatch South Tyneside facilitated an independent focus group with nine members of the Jarrow GP Patient List on 14 June 2016 to understand what they wanted from the future service.

The patients think that through this process they have been and are continuing to be treated like “second class citizens”. This particularly relates to their experiences of the lack of care provided to them by the Mayfield Medical Group. Patients also said that they used to receive patient surveys about their service but have not received one from Mayfield Medical Group. 

From the discussions the patient’s ideal outcomes would be either for the patient list to be re-commissioned as a standalone practice with the same medical practitioners as at Jarrow GP Surgery; or as a satellite surgery within an existing practice again operated by the Jarrow GP Surgery practitioners. The patients would also like to be offered the option to register with ‘out of area’ GP. 

Patients also put forward that the patient information sent out by NHS England was confusing and not easy to understand; patients reported having contacted NHS England for some clarity and said that they have had no response.