Report of the GP Hospital Survey data
Download (PDF 4.13 MB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Tameside decided to look at access to GPs after hearing a lot of feedback about access to appointments, communication and staff. They surveyed 204 people
The manner used by staff when talking to people, the general behavioural characteristics of staff, and the way people are made to feel by staff all seem to make a difference to how someone feels about the experience of their visit. This applies to both GP and hospital appointments.
The majority of answers to the question about communication with staff (all staff) were positive – people used words like excellent, very good or good.
Most patients seem to be satisfied with the medical treatment they receive. Treatment is not often mentioned, and if it is, it is in addition to other comments.
There appears to be a link between the expectations of a person and the actual time they wait for an appointment. People who expected an appointment sooner than they got it were less happy than someone who knew they would have to wait a specific time (unless it was a particularly long time), even if the time waited was the same.
Some people commented that they could not book routine GP appointments in advance. Instead they had to join the queue of people ringing for emergency appointments.
Looking at overall satisfaction levels, almost 90% of people who completed the survey are happy with their GP service in Tameside. However half of these people felt that there could be some improvements or changes made. 85% were happy with the service received at Tameside Hospital, of which 40% felt there were some improvements or changes which could be made.