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July 2022 - Health

53% of people who wanted a same day appointment with their GP were successful: The annual GP Patient Survey has revealed that more than half the patients who requested a same day appointment in 2022 were successful, however this was down on the survey figures for 2021 (60%) and 2020 (62%).

The survey is conducted annually, and this year had 720,000 responses, with 293,000 respondents taking part online.

It also found that the number of people who said they had a good experience when making an appointment was down to 56% from 71% who said the same in 2021 and 65% in 2020.

Just over half (51%) said they were able to speak to someone at a time they wanted or sooner, which was also down from 59% in 2021 and 56% in 2020.

Rating their appointment 

The survey also asked about the rating of the care at their last appointment, with 85% saying the healthcare professional they saw was good at listening (compared with 89% in 2021 and 88% in 2020); 83% said the professional they saw allowed them enough time (compared with 89% in 2021 and 86% in 2020); while 83% said they were good at 'treating them with care and concern' (compared with 88% in 2021 and 87% in 2020).

Nine in 10 (90%) said that they were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment (compared with 93% in 2021 and 93% in 2020), while 93% said they had trust in the healthcare professional they saw (compared with 96% in 2021 and 95% in 2020).

Avoiding appointments

The survey also revealed insight into the reasons why some patients who needed a GP appointment chose not to make one.

More than half the patients who needed a GP appointment in the last 12 months avoided doing so (55%), found the survey. The reasons given for avoiding making an appointment were:

• The process was too difficult - 26%
• They were worried about the burden on the NHS - 20%
• Avoided because of risk of getting Covid-19 - 12%
• Avoided as didn't have time  - 9%
• Avoided for another reason - 9%

The research found that 72% of respondents were satisfied with the type of appointment offered and accepted it (a fall of 10 percentage points since last year). Almost a third were offered a choice of time or day (31%), while 22% were offered a choice of type of appointment. Just 7% were offered a choice of which healthcare professional they saw. 

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