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September 2022 - Health

72% of patients had a 'good' experience of GP practice in latest GP Patients Survey: An annual government survey has revealed that the proportion of people reporting a 'good' overall experience at their GP practice was 72% - a significant fall from 83% just 12 months earlier.

The annual survey had 720,000 responses with 293,000 respondents taking part online. Many of the findings reveal a fall in satisfaction and experience scores given by respondents since the previous 2021 survey, which was conducted during the third Covid-19 lockdown. This should be a consideration when comparing results year-to-year advise the report's authors.

When it comes to accessing their GP and appointments, 55% said they have used a service online in the past 12 months (to book appointments, arrange repeat prescriptions, have an online consultation), up from 44% the previous year. Slightly fewer respondents (53%) said they have found it easy to get through to their practice by phone, which has fallen from 68% in 2021 and 65% in 2020.

When rating the level of care they received at their last appointment, 85% said the healthcare professional they saw was 'good' at listening to them; this compared to 89% in 2021. Eighty-three percent said the person they saw gave them enough time to share their concerns and get feedback (down from 89%). The same percentage (83%) said they were treated with 'care and concern' during their appointment, compared with 88% in 2021.

Making an appointment

When making an appointment, just over half the respondents polled (51%) said they saw or spoke to someone at a time they wanted to or sooner -- a fall of 8 percentage points since 2021 (59%). Whilst in 2021 six in 10 people were able to get a same day appointment (60%) the latest survey reveals this has fallen to 53%, while 56% said they had a 'good' experience making an appointment. This was a considerable fall from 71% in 2021 and 65% in 2020.

Just under three-quarters of patients (72%) said they were satisfied with the appointment they were offered and accepted it, down from 82% in 2021.

Avoiding appointments

Of all the people surveyed, 84% said they needed a GP appointment in the last year, and of these, more than half (55%) said they avoided making an appointment.

Asked about the reasons why they avoided making an appointment, around a quarter (26%) said they found the process too difficult, while one in 5 respondents (20%) said they were 'worried about the burden on the NHS'. Other reasons cited included avoiding the surgery due to the risk of catching Covid-19 (12%) or because they didn't have time (8%). Just under one in 10 avoided for another reason (9%).

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