Statement from HMG regarding the national GP Patient Survey

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The latest GP Patient Survey was published yesterday. We are disappointed to see that the results suggest a fall in patient satisfaction with our practice.  The GP Patient Survey was sent out in January 2024 by NHS England.  It was sent to 562 of the registered patients at HMG.  Of these, 183 surveys were returned.  This represents just 0.5% of our registered patients.

The survey shows that, overall, 53% of those patients surveyed describe their experience as good. A further 22.5% stated that their experience was neither good nor poor.  

We acknowledge the reduction in patients who state that they are satisfied with the practice.  We are committed to listening to patients and we take their feedback seriously.  This statement recognises the results.  It is also to explain the actions we are already taking to improve the patient experience.

Despite the survey results, we do receive positive feedback from patients, directly to staff, on a daily basis. This reflects the dedication and hard work of the HMG team.

We understand that it has been a challenge for both our patients and staff in recent times. The survey highlights this and reasons include:

  • An increase in demand for appointments
  • Difficulty in recruitment of GPs and receptionists, particularly over the last 3 years
  • Management of more complex health conditions

Over the last 5 years, there has been a real terms funding cut to General Practice of almost 7%.  For HMG this equals about £500,000 of funding per year.  Even with this, national data shows that at HMG we delivered more appointments in January 2024 (27,300) than in January 2023 (25,202) and January 2022 (22,805).  This is an increase of 17% in two years.   

Despite the challenges, we want to offer a better service for our patients and a sustainable working environment for our staff.  Since the National GP Patient Survey was undertaken in January, we have been working hard to improve the experience of patients booking appointments.  Last week we moved our appointment booking to ‘total triage’. 

Since last Monday, all requests for a GP appointment are reviewed on the same day.  Patients are first asked to complete an online form giving some information about the reason for their request.  Our reception team can help patients complete the form by telephone or in person if they do not have internet access.

Where a request may be suitable for another service, a trained Care Navigator will refer the patient to that service e.g. Pharmacy First.  This helps to reduce waiting time for those patients who don’t need to see a clinician.  All other requests will be reviewed by a senior GP.  Based on this assessment a patient may:

  • Be given advice on how to manage the condition at home.
  • Be directed to another clinician within or outside the practice, e.g. a physiotherapist.
  • Be booked for a phone or face-to-face appointment, depending on the patient choice. This might be with a GP or another clinician in the practice.  The appointment could be on the same day, within a week or as a routine appointment, based on the clinical need of the patient.

The aim of total triage is to make sure a patient receives the right care from the right person.  It is also intended to reduce the ‘8am rush’ for appointments.  Last week the team handled over 1,600 requests.  On most occasions, patients received a response within 2 hours of submitting their form.  It is early days, but the initial patient feedback has been very positive.  Last week, 77% of responders state that their experience of the practice was good.  In addition, 91% of patients were satisfied with the appointment that they were offered.

We know there are other things we can do, and we will continue to work hard to improve the service.  We are pleased to report that there will be an additional 6 staff members joining the reception team soon. We also have a call-back feature on our phone system so that patients do not have to wait on the line for their call to be answered.

We hope and expect that the measures that we have put in place since the National Patient Survey data was gathered will improve the experience of patients when the 2025 survey is released.

Thank you for your understanding and patience.

The Partners of Hereford Medical Group