Walsall GP Patient experience report
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Healthwatch Walsall carried out a survey of Walsall residents in 2013/14 about local GP practices. As this suggested wide variations in patient satisfaction between different practices, a further survey took place in February and March 2016. This was more focused on patient experiences and outcomes of seeing their GP to understand the factors that may influence satisfaction levels. The survey was completed with patients at GP practices by Healthwatch Walsall, supported on-line and by some GP practices.
Key findings - Overall patient satisfaction was high with 84% of respondents saying that their practice was either excellent or good. Issues cited by respondents negatively affecting their satsifaction levels were; on the day appointment and routine appointment availability, having to use A&E when unable to get an appointment, being able to get through by telephone, being rushed during appointments, the attitude of some reception staff, being unable to see the same GP which affected the continuity of care, the lack of flexible appointment times for people who work or are at school, privacy at the reception desk and facilities for children in waiting rooms (lack of provision of toys).
Reccomendations - While the majority of people appear satisfied with their GP services there remains a sizeable number that have poor or very poor experiences. This could be improved by; specified thresholds of satisfaction for all practices, practices falling below developing action plans to improve patient experience, a pilot project in collaboration with the CCG, NHS and PRG's to focus on low scoring GP practices, review of the average waiting times for telephone queuing systems and potential cost impact on patients left on hold, introduce customer service training for reception staff, where reception staff determine urgency of need ensure they have undergone recognised triage training, review the availability of early morning and later evening appointments for those with school, work or caring commitments, review the availability of routine appointments to reduce pressure on urgent appointments.