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FLU VACCINATIONS:
We strongly recommend vaccination
for people with the following:
Please telephone Reception to make
an appointment.
THE GP PATIENT SURVEY 2008
You may be aware through the press,
TV, radio or internet that the
government has published details of
a survey it organised again this
year of patients' experience of GP
services. As a practice we do value
communication with you - our
registered patients - so we thought
you might like to have some
information about this survey.
What the survey asked
The full title of the survey was
'The GP Patient Survey - your
doctor, your experience, your say'.
Questionnaires were distributed in
January 2008, and responses were due
back in April 2008. This year the
survey had two parts, one about
access to GP services, and the other
about whether patients had been
offered a choice of hospital when
GPs were making appointments for
them. Patients were also asked about
how satisfied they were with the
hours their GP surgery was open.
Results
The headline results of the survey
were as follows for England:
-
The vast majority of patients
(87%) were satisfied with how
easy it was to get through to
the practice on the telephone.
This is a slight improvement
from last year.
-
87% of patients said they were
able to get an appointment
within 48 hours. Again, this is
a slight improvement from last
year.
-
77% of people who wanted to book
ahead for an appointment with a
doctor reported that they were
able to do so. This, too, is a
slight improvement on last year.
-
88% of those who wanted to see a
particular doctor at their GP
surgery were able to do so.
-
In the main survey on hospital
choice, 93% of patients who were
referred to see a specialist and
who completed the questionnaire
said that their GP had talked
with them about a choice of
hospital.
-
82% of patients said that they
were satisfied with the hours
their GP surgery was open in the
last six months. This did vary
according to how old patients
were, whether they worked and if
so how far their workplace was
from the practice, and how easy
it was for them to take time off
work. There were also
differences according to which
ethnic group patients came from.
The results for Elm Tree Surgery
We are pleased to report that the
results from this practice were as
follows:
-
98% of people said that they
were satisfied with their
ability to get through to the
surgery on the telephone
-
98% of people who tried to get a
quick appointment with a GP said
they were able to do so within
48 hours
-
97% of people who wanted to book
ahead for an appointment with a
doctor reported that they were
able to do so
-
97% of people who wanted an
appointment with a particular
doctor thought that they could
have one
-
85% of people said that they
were satisfied with the current
opening hours in the practice
-
55% of people who were referred
to a specialist said, in
responding to the specific
survey on hospital choice, that
their GP had discussed a choice
of hospital with them.
Our views
We always welcome comments from our
patients and hope that we give
patients the opportunity to have
their say about the service our
practice provides, including how
easy it is to see a doctor. We are
still concerned that this national
survey costs a lot of money, and
asks questions that we feel can be
misleading because they do not
explain the implications of, for
example, longer opening hours for
other services, and of course for
the GPs, nurses and other staff in
the practice.
The results this year do show once
again that the vast majority of
patients are happy with the services
we provide, and have confidence in
general practice. UK general
practice continues to deliver
benefits to patients through the
improved monitoring and treatment of
acute and chronic health problems
and the continued long-term and
personal relationships we have with
our patients.
We are also very grateful to all
those people who signed our recent
petition in support of UK general
practice - in total, over one and a
quarter million people signed and we
very much value your support.
We and our practice team work very
hard to act in the best interests of
our patients and to provide a
quality service for all, and
particularly those who need it most
- those with chronic and serious
illnesses, the very young, and the
elderly. We hope that we have done
our best to ensure that patients are
able to make appointments at
convenient times, whether this be
for short-notice or non-urgent
problems. With a limited number of
appointments in one day, it can be
difficult to get this balance right
- but on the whole we think the
results of the survey show that GPs
are doing this well.
You may have seen in the press or on
TV that there has been a lot of
discussion about surgery opening
times in recent months. This year's
survey of access to GP services was
conducted before we provided the
extended opening times on three
evenings a week. We think that the
fact that the results nevertheless
demonstrate such high levels of
satisfaction also shows that GPs are
doing their best to provide what
patients want.
New Service
From 1st April 2008
we have a late collection of blood,
and other samples every Tuesday and
Thursday. You are now able to book
an appointment for a blood test*
on these days up to 17.00.
*(excluding
INR's)
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