Newcastle Outer West PCN patient survey
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Healthwatch Newcastle was asked by the Newcastle Outer PCN to survey all their GP patients. The PCN wanted to understand patient experience to develop its services. They undertook a survey from 18 January to 12 February to which 1,390 people responded.
The overall results of this survey were very positive.
The questions about mental health and additional services both show that mental health is a significant concern for survey respondents. In addition, the results indicate that many respondents do not know how to access mental health support should they need it or feel that the help on offer is insufficient.
Many respondents are unaware of the new services on offer at their surgeries. They asked for more information about what services are available, what they involve and how to access them.
How people are dealt with when they visit or contact the surgery is always important. In its various elements, it represents the single most significant factor in what respondents found most helpful about their contact. Also, the perceived improvements in how both staff and clinicians have responded during the pandemic are significant.
Contacting the surgery by telephone was the issue which respondents felt needed the most improvement. It was also a significant contributor in the question asking why respondents felt their experience of contacting their surgery during the pandemic was worse than usual.
Appointment systems are the second most common area requiring improvement, scoring almost as highly as telephone systems. Interestingly, respondents also rated appointment systems second in the reasons why their experience of contacting their surgery during the pandemic was better than usual, indicating that changes introduced during the pandemic have led to improvements in this area.
Although most respondents feel that changes introduced during the pandemic have improved their experience of contacting their surgery, for others not being able to have face-to-face contact with their GP is a major concern
The question about additional services indicates that many respondents are keen to live a healthy lifestyle and would like support from their surgery with this.