Access to GP services seven days a week is not the factor considered most important by patients when assessing their doctor’s surgery, a new study of more than 170 practices in the UK has found.
In a survey to determine what aspects of NHS GP care patients most value and how well patients’ surgeries are performing, extensive opening hours were rated as one of the least important elements.
Other items ranked among the least important were doctors knowing about the patient’s living situation; short waiting times; doctors asking about other possible problems; and the proximity of the practice to the patient’s house, researchers from the University of Lincoln found.
Areas to improve
Areas where respondents believed the performance of the GP service could be improved included patients knowing how to access out of hours appointments, ease of getting appointments, patients feeling able to cope with a health problem after a consultation, being involved in treatment decisions made by the doctor and being asked about other possible problems and reducing time pressures on consultations.
Data was gathered from two surveys featuring the same 15 questions but assessing different aspects of care. One examined what patients thought were the most important aspects of GP services, while the other asked patients to rate the performance of the primary care they received.
Real insight
Lead researcher Dr Coral Sirdifield, from the University of Lincoln’s School of Health and Social Care, said: “These findings offer a real insight into the aspects of GP services which are considered the most important by patients and how those aspects marry up with the actual experiences patients have at GP surgeries. This information can help practices and CCGs to determine which aspects of care they need to focus on to provide a service which is both deliverable and suits the needs of the patients.
“Areas relating to GP surgery access such as extensive opening hours, practice proximity and short waiting times were given higher rankings based on what the patients actually experienced, but were not rated as highly when it came to how important they were to patients. This suggests that focusing on these areas is less likely to increase patient satisfaction, and the Government’s drive for seven-day general practice is not what patients in this survey valued most.”
The hot list
Almost 1,500 patients from 174 GP practices across the East Midlands, South Yorkshire and East of England provided the data so, the question you’ve been wanting to ask – what is most important to patients? Here’s your answer, in descending order, with the actual performance the researchers found in brackets next to it:
- Ease of getting an appointment (0.82 out of 1)
- Doctor knows important information about the patient’s background (0.98)
- Doctor has the patient’s medical records at hand (0.97)
- Doctor listens carefully to patients (0.97)
- Doctor takes sufficient time/does not make the patient feel under pressure (0.95)
- Doctor involves patients in making decisions about treatment (0.87)
- After the visit the patient feels she/he can cope better with his/her health problem/illness (0.80)
- Doctor is polite (0.98)
- The patient knows how to get to evening, night and weekend services (0.71)
- Reception staff are polite and helpful (0.98)
- Proximity of practice to patient’s house (0.97)
- Extensive opening hours (0.85)
- Short waiting time when contacting the practice (0.88)
- Doctor asks the patient about other possible problems besides the one she/he came for (0.61)
- Doctor knows about the patient’s living situation (0.71)
The research paper, which can be viewed in full here, does provide a useful heads up regarding what patients really want and, thanks to the performance scores, how well practices are actually performing.
Do you agree with the findings? Let us know by commenting below or in forum. The thread is here.
————————————–
Trending topics in the forum:
Changing your practice telephone number
Sickness terms
Partnership agreement
Notional Rent
March 18, 2016 at 8:54 am
The drive for 7 day working in general practice might just be the end of Primary Care – It will certainly mean an already dwindling workforce is spread thinner, and will most likely cause a mass exodus of aging GPs while at the same time removing one of the things about general practice which makes young doctors want to do it – no shift work.
March 18, 2016 at 11:14 am
During a recent encounter with a GP as a patient I found that the GP could not use the computer software, had an attitude that you could cut with a knife, and a resentment about seeing another doctors patients that made you feel you had very much been short changed. What ever happened to seeing your own GP every time you attend the surgery. I have used extended hours once but it meant travelling to another surgery – one I had chosen not to join. I cannot ever remember needing a GP at a weekend. But I have had poor service from an out of hours service. For instance, I had to take a one year old child to another town 12 miles away in the middle of the night.
March 18, 2016 at 11:15 am
The evidence exists to back a stand against not opening seven days a week – this study and the government’s evaluation of the pilots show it is unnecessary and expensive. However seven-day opening will be a reality unless CCGs and doctors are willing to stand up and say we won’t do it, instead of coming up with schemes on how best to offer the service.
March 18, 2016 at 12:57 pm
Patient care is at the centre of everything we do. If 7 day aweek opening is required extra funding will be need to be available. Staff cover and premises costs will need to be reimbursed. But before another “knee jerk” reaction is undertaken maybe patient education is more important. Advertising correct use of NHS 111 & 999 services. Updating local A&E services or upgrading one surgery in each area to become a walk in centre offering weekend and bank holiday service.
But one thing for certain it cannot be done for free!! If NHS England/Gov think up these idea’s they need to put some common sense thiought into it.
March 25, 2016 at 11:11 am
The paper matches very closely what we have seen from five years of research into what patients want. First of all it is good, fast access to their own GP, and in many cases (up to half) that means a named individual. Politicians are far adrift from this, but the best thing they could do is encourage local general practice, in hours, and with continuity of care. So simple.