National Voices’ response to the GP Patient Survey results
- Our vision for improving patient experience of diagnosis
- Health inequalities
- Digital health and care
- Communication and administration
- Integrated care
- Person-centred care
- Primary care
It was an important moment to see the Secretary of State for Health visit a GP centre as his first port of call after the recent election, as it reinforced Labour’s commitment to improve how the front door of the NHS is working for patients.
In a call to me on the day after the election, Wes Streeting confirmed to National Voices how important patient experience and voice will be in NHS recovery. With these statistics showing the impact of health inequalities in accessing healthcare we stand ready to work with him on developing meaningful solutions to improve equity of access and experience for all using primary care services.
Jacob Lant, Chief Executive of National Voices
Access inequalities
Access remains very difficult and these survey results show there is a lot of work to be done to eradicate the significant variations in access we see across different ethnicities, genders, sexualities and geographies.
Patients reporting a good experience of contacting their GP ranged from 57 to 75 per cent across different integrated care systems, with certain ethnic groups and religions finding it particularly difficult (56.3% of Gypsy and Irish travellers reported a good experience contacting their GP, compared to an all patient average of 67.3%, for Bangladeshis it was 54.2%, Sikhs 59.5%). Access is also harder for Disabled people at 63.6%, and for those who identify as non-binary 58.8%.
Further work must be done to drill down into what access barriers people are facing and this can only be done by engaging with underserved communities and acting on their concerns
Jacob Lant, Chief Executive of National Voices
Digital exclusion
Our concerns around digital exclusion remain, with results showing that 31 per cent of people did not use any GP online services in the last year and patients were less likely to say their needs were met if their appointment was remote. We recognise the Government’s desire to “transform the NHS app” to give patients more control over their health, but the impact of digital exclusion must be grasped by this Government and measures put in place to ensure that no one is left behind by the digital revolution in primary.
Jacob Lant, Chief Executive of National Voices
Continuity of care
The survey results reinforce our understanding of continuity of care – for some patients it is essential, for others it is less of a priority. Just a third (32.8%) of survey respondents said there is a particular healthcare professional they prefer to see, but of those who do have a preference a shocking 18.2% said they ‘never or almost never’ got to see them.
The benefit of continuity of care is also clear. Of those people who said they had a long-term condition and had an agreed plan with their GP practice on how best to manage it, 93.6% found that helpful in their self-management. Yet only 41.5% of patients said they had even had a conversation about their long-term conditions, with just 44.8 per cent of those agreeing a plan. National Voices’ Vision for improving patient experience of diagnosis stresses the importance of creating a shared agenda.
Labour have set a clear indication to bring back the family doctor model for those who will benefit most, but to achieve this GP practices must be encouraged to ensure efforts around continuity are targeted effectively. This can be supported by giving patients more choice at the point of making an appointment to help people make their own trade-offs between speed of access and seeing the same professional.
Jacob Lant, Chief Executive of National Voices