According to the most recent research from The King’s Fund, 72% of patients are satisfied with GP services – the highest satisfaction rating of any NHS service. While this is clearly a healthy figure, in these days of public feedback and online reviews, just one negative patient can severely dent a practice’s reputation – and be there for all to see.

So what can practices do to boost patient satisfaction and ensure they avoid being on the receiving end of some negative reviews? Here are a few top tips.

What causes dissatisfaction?

The first step to boosting satisfaction is to find out where any weak points are. Waiting times are generally considered to be a weak spot (54% of dissatisfied patients cited this as the main reason of unhappiness in the King’s Fund’s survey), so maybe it’s time to look at your appointment booking system and consider changes. More on this topic can be found elsewhere on the Practice Index Blog.

Don’t be afraid of feedback

No practice should be afraid of feedback – good or bad. The advantage of actively tracking performance from the perspective of patients is gaining insight into knowing when and where to make improvements. It’s not easy to collect feedback in the practice environment, but it’s vital in order to make changes and justify improvement initiatives.

Who to target?

According to the King’s Fund, respondents aged 75 and over reported higher levels of satisfaction (74%) than those under the age of 65 (between 59 to 62%). These differences are statistically significant. Interestingly, there are only small differences between the rates of satisfaction reported by men and women, and these differences are not statistically significant.

This suggests more should be done to satisfy patients of working age – one practice has done this by reserving a number of appointments in their evening and weekend surgeries for those who have to fit around work commitments.

First impressions count

Earlier this week, researchers from Bristol and Loughborough universities found, unsurprisingly, that ‘unhelpful’ receptionists were in practices with relatively low patient satisfaction levels. They describe an unhelpful call in which a receptionist repeatedly tells a patient there are no appointments at specific times and surgeries – leaving the patient to push for alternatives.

Receptionists are crucial to patient satisfaction as they are on the front line. A smile and ‘hello’ when patients arrive goes a long way as patients like to be acknowledged.

And while much has been said about the role of reception staff in welcoming people, what about the design, layout, colour and condition of your reception area? More pointers on this topic can be found in our article here.

Motivation – from the top down

Of course, it’s easier for staff to provide a warm welcome and be helpful to patients, if they’re motivated and the practice is a good place to be. And this means embedding a culture that works from the top down. GPs set the tone of practices and if they’re constantly grumbling it’ll cascade down through the entire practice. It’s amazing how far a quick thank you from a GP or senior manager will go in making the whole environment happier. People need to feel appreciated – so make it happen – you’ll be surprised how quickly the positive vibes will spread.

Personalised service

A common trick used by salespeople and customer care staff is to use customer (patients in this case) names at least once during each conversation. Calling a patient by name emphasises that the practice views them as an individual, not simply another generic patient.

Read notes

One common area of complaint from patients is that they’re passed around different members of clinical staff within a practice – and are constantly being asked the same questions or having to repeat stories. Therefore, reading records ahead of appointments is vital to satisfaction. Just a quick read after the patient has been called to the treatment room should help.

Next steps

Further dissatisfaction comes from not knowing what’s happening next. So, try to ensure the patient understands what is going to happen to them next or what they need to do. It might be the patient’s first time at the practice, or the first time for a particular procedure, so take the time to explain clearly and don’t be afraid to repeat information.

Patient education

Providing your patients with the information and tools they need to improve their health and adopt healthier behaviours is critical to the patient experience. A patient will feel like they’ve received more comprehensive care when they leave the practice with more knowledge more than they had when they entered. Not only that, but studies have shown that greater patient education leads to better patient adherence, which leads to improvements in both patient satisfaction and health outcomes.

Listen

Patients don’t like to be interrupted – or feel that they’re not being listened to. Practice staff can usually learn more from listening to patients than from asking questions.

Be aware

Look out for unhappy patients and try to deal with them proactively. Don’t be afraid to approach patients if you feel there’s an underlying issue with the practice or a member of staff – proactive service will win people over very quickly.

Be reliable

Do what you say you will do, when you say you will do it. Set time estimates for patients and update them on any changes. Apologise for any delays. One practice we spoke to was very publicly lambasted online and on social media by a patient who twice turned up for a ‘stop smoking’ meeting, only to be told that the person they were supposed to be seeing was off sick. The practice admitted the criticism was fair and they’ve taken measures to ensure it doesn’t happen again, but that complaint will remain public for a long time. Be clear and proactive with your communication.

A warm goodbye

Just as a warm welcome makes a difference, so too does a friendly goodbye. It’s another opportunity to acknowledge the patient, so use it.

The above is far from an exhaustive list of tips and tricks you can use – and there are many more practice specific ways to enhance satisfaction. Hopefully though, the above will help you avoid those nasty and unhelpful negative reviews.

How have you boosted patient satisfaction? Let us know by commenting below or via the Practice Index Forum.

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