Government ups the ante on GP surveys
pharmafile | January 7, 2009 | News story | |Â Â NHS, primaryÂ
Patients are to be surveyed more often in a government bid to further improve GP services.
The survey has been an annual exercise for the past three years, but from April the poll will now be made every three months.
The questionnaire will also be broader, and try to establish the basic quality of services provided.
It will include new questions about whether or not patients find receptionists helpful, have the option of telephone consultations, feel their problem is understood and how they rate the overall care they receive.
Patients are also asked to rate local out of hours care to ensure health care is easily accessible when patients need it.
The current questionnaire was due to be sent this week to 5.7 million people registered with GP practices.
As well as stimulating changes to services, results from the national survey will also be used to determine rewards for GPs who are deemed successful.
The government says the expanded survey means the local NHS can link GP pay more closely to patients' views if this will improve care.
The answers will continue to set the level of payments made to practices for things like delivering access to appointments in two working days and booking appointments in advance.
"This new survey with wider questions will ensure patients can have their say about the issues that matter most to them," said health minister Ben Bradshaw.
"Where patients identify areas for improvement, the local NHS will need to respond."
"I hope everyone who receives a questionnaire will take the time to fill it in and help to drive improvements in healthcare by giving us an accurate picture of patients' experiences of local GP services," added Bradshaw.
Previous surveys have shown demand for quicker access to GP appointments – something the government said has led to over half of all practices now offering extended opening hours.
The BMA has criticised the new survey, saying a change in the format will make progress difficult to track.
Dr Laurence Buckman, chair of the BMA's GP committee, said: "GPs want feedback from patients as it helps them improve the service they offer. However, we are very concerned that the changes mean we won't be able to draw any meaningful comparison with previous years' results, so no-one will truly know if the service has improved or got worse.
"It is also a shame that the government has discontinued the practice-based patient survey which was given to patients immediately after a visit to the practice. This gave very accurate patient feedback about the quality of consultation with the GP or nurse, something the new survey will fail to do."
Dr Buckman added: "It can be very difficult trying to remember how you felt about a consultation which took place six months ago. It means the results of the new postal survey may not give the true picture of GP services."
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