You said… We did ……

Patient Survey Towards the end of 2012 we conducted a Patient Satisfaction Survey which we put on our website and also made paper copies available in the surgery. The purpose of the survey was to enable us to quantify patient satisfaction and identify areas which require improvement.

Response to the survey We had replies from approx 200 patients. In general all the comments were really positive however you did highlight issues with appointment availability. On 14 th January 2013 we discussed the results of our patient survey with the members of our Patient Reference Group (PRG). The PRG highlighted the need to make our appointments more readily available.

Surgery Opening Hours We asked how satisfied you are with the Surgery opening hours. 89% of you were either very or fairly satisfied with our hours of business. We have continued to run early morning sessions on Mondays and Tuesdays and some Tuesday evenings. We hold surgeries on Saturday mornings including Flu clinics and drop in Blood Pressure clinics.

Appointment with chosen GP We asked whether patients were able to make an appointment with their chosen GP or nurse. Of those who responded, approx 60% indicated they were able to do so. We have overcome the pressures of having GP’s on maternity leave by using locum Doctors. To ensure continuity of care, we are also in the process of recruiting 2 permanent GP’s which should make it easier for patients to see their own doctor.

Making an appointment We asked whether patients felt they were able to get an appointment to see or speak to someone. Of those who responded, 60% were able to get an appointment. We discussed this with the PPG and we recognise that this is an area which requires constant review so we can continue to make improvements. We have a GP dedicated to access who regularly audits appointment data to enable early release of Tuesday morning appointments on a Monday, if required. We also operate a traffic light system and make appointments available on the internet for release the evening before.

Receptionists We asked how helpful patients found the receptionists. Of those who responded, 60% found them to be either excellent or good. We have ongoing reviews of the performance of our receptionists. All members of staff are allocated a mentor to ensure competancy in their role.

Telephone answering response Since the introduction of our new phone system, we wanted feedback as to how satisfied our patients are with the speed at which their call was answered. Of the 56% who responded, only 1% waited more than 2 minutes. The remaining calls were answered within 2 minutes either by the automated attendant or a member of the Reception team.

Actions from 2012 One of last years actions was to implement a new telephone system with a queuing facility which we did in January 2012 and general feedback received indicates this has improved the patient experience. We also introduced the Surgery Pod to enable patients to check their Blood Pressure without any intervention from a GP or nurse. This appears to have made the appointment system more efficient.

Conclusion To summarise, we are aware we need to make our appointments more readily available and are working on an action plan to incorporate as many of your suggestions as possible. We look forward to working with the PPG and vPPG in the future to make to further improving patient access and experience. We value suggestions and feedback from our patients and are committed to regular review and improvement of the service we offer to our patients.