The results of the latest GP Patient Survey were released today, and our Chief Executive, Rich Collins, has shared his initial thoughts on the results.
Every year, a survey is undertaken looking at the views of patient’s on primary care, the services provided by your local GP practice. The survey is very thorough and uses methods which mean that the findings really are representative of the whole population. The information from the survey means that you can look at how your own GP practice performed, as well as comparing it against other local practices. You can also look at information by region, as well as the national findings. While the local information is really interesting, as a national charity, GAIN is more interested in looking at things as a whole.
So, what did the survey show? Well the big positive was that it demonstrated that as a whole, people’s overall experience of primary care was ok (around 75%). It also showed that people thought that the staff working across GP practices were helpful (83%). However, there were a few more negative issues highlighted, and I’ve focussed on those that I think are more significant to people impacted by GBS, CIDP, and other inflammatory neuropathies.
One issue which was highlighted which reflects what people tell me, is that there were real issues in terms of experience when accessing services when GP practices were closed. Only 56% of people said they had a good experience of NHS services when their GP practice was shut. 31% of people said that they had to access a service when their GPs was closed, with just 47% of them using 111, and 37% visiting their A&E or Urgent Treatment Centre. People tell us that this is a significant issue for them, especially when they are having issues with diagnosis or accessing initial treatment.
Another significant issue identified in the survey is around accessing services through GPs, with most people finding it difficult to contact their GP practice, especially through websites or apps. We know that this is fairly universal, but this issue is reported to us a lot, with people impacted by GBS, CIDP, and other conditions struggling to be able to get an appointment due to not being able to get through, issues around their condition preventing contact, or digital exclusion. This is a very big issue that needs to be addressed by the new government.
The other issue in the survey that I wanted to focus on was around care planning and care management, an issue that is raised by our members and people who contact us again and again. In the survey, while most people knew the next steps in their journey within 2 days (72%), 17% reported that they didn’t know what the next steps were at all. This means that people were left not knowing what was next, what to expect, or what they needed to do. This seems to be a fairly common experience for people with a long term condition, and is certainly reported a lot to us.
There is a lot of information within the survey results, and you can find information on your local practice and area at GP Patient Survey (gp-patient.co.uk).
In September, an analysis tool will be launched which will help us dig into the data. We are hoping there will be some condition specific data to view, but this will depend on how many people with GBS, CIDP, and another inflammatory neuropathies took part. We will let you know what we find later in the year when we get access.
In the meantime, please let us know if any of the issue outlined above sound familiar, or if you have any other issues with GP practices that you want to highlight by emailing office@gaincharity.org.uk
