What you told us about GPs April 2024 – March 2025

This brief report gives a summary of feedback to Healthwatch Oxfordshire from members of the public about GP practices in Oxfordshire. Between April 2024 and March 2025, they heard from 354 people by phone and email, our Feedback Centre, via paper ‘Have your say’ forms and through face-to-face outreach across the county. 

Many people faced barriers to accessing care from GP practices – including difficulty making appointments, waiting for appointments, challenges navigating online services, or a lack of support for people with additional communication needs. When practice staff and systems enabled people to overcome these barriers, this made a real difference. 

People said they valued the high quality of care they received, and appreciated support from compassionate, knowledgeable and helpful staff – including health and care professionals as well as non-clinical staff. Healthwatch heard about challenges around a lack of joined-up care or continuity of care. 

Healthwatch heard that, as people get used to changes in how GP care is provided, good communication makes a big difference – for example, by supporting people to understand why they were being triaged by a patient care navigator or seeing a health professional who was not a GP. 

This report and patient feedback will be shared with the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB) to inform their commissioning of GP services in Oxfordshire and the continued development and delivery of their Primary Care Strategy, and with the Oxfordshire GP Network.