The 2020 GP Patient Survey results, aimed at finding out patient satisfaction with GP surgeries, were published a few weeks ago. Ramsbury is placed fourth in the NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire area. Great Bedwyn is seventh, Burbage tenth but the Kennet and Avon Partnership (KAMP) in Marlborough falls into the bottom ten of surgeries in the area.
The survey is sent out every year in January and data was collected before lockdown. Participants were asked a variety of questions to establish patients’ experiences of accessing the surgery, choice and satisfaction with appointment offered, confidence and trust in health-care professional they saw and overall experience of their GP practice.
While 99% of Ramsbury patients and 98% of Great Bedwyn patients rated their overall experience of their GP practice as good, only 72% of Kennet and Avon patients did so. This compares unfavourably with the local average of 85% and national average of 82%.
The survey reveals that only 58% of Kennet and Avon respondents are satisfied with the GP appointment times available compared with 89% in Ramsbury and 90% in Great Bedwyn.
It is, however, not all bad news for Marlborough. The survey revealed that 96% of respondents had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw and 98% felt that the healthcare professional recognised or understood any mental health needs.
The size of the survey also needs to be taken into account. 248 surveys were sent out to patients of Kennet and Avon and 119 were completed.
Dr Jenny Campbell, partner at the Kennet and Avon Medical Partnership, told Marlborough.news, “The results of the survey are very upsetting for all of us and incredibly demoralising particularly coming after all the hard work and effort people have put in dealing with the pandemic.
We always fail to achieve the same scores as Ramsbury, which is a much smaller practice, whereas we serve patients as far away as Upavon.
The results do highlight our effectiveness in dealing with mental health issues which I’m very proud of as mental health provision in Wiltshire is very thin on the ground.”
However, Dr Jenny Campbell feels that the practice’s own surveys are more accurate in reflecting the views of patients and in making suggestions for future improvements.
“I can confirm that in 2019, 291 patients responded to the Friends and Family Test, and we averaged 82.4% of them as saying they are likely or highly likely to recommend the practice. The highest score was 100% on a few months, but the lowest was 67%.”
Kennet and Avon also have a Patient Participation Group(PPG) who meet regularly. In 2019, 358 patients responded to the PPG survey. Only 21.41% were dissatisfied with the practice. This survey did reveal that many were unhappy with the waiting time for a routine GP appointment, especially if requesting a specific GP.
Dr Jenny feels that this concern is being addressed. The practice now has appointments from 7.30 am to 8pm on most days, and has a full complement of GP’s. They have employed several other health-care professionals such as a paramedic, a clinical pharmacist and two advanced nurse practitioners who specifically provide aid for the over 75s in the community and in care homes.
”A GP is no longer always the appropriate person for patients to see and we are getting better at navigating people to the right person.
We always do the best we can and are enthusiastic about going forward. It’s a time of change. Let’s grab it with both hands and use the opportunity to make sure we’re changing for the better.”
No surveys have been carried out during lockdown. If you wish to read the 2020 GP Patient Survey go to https://www.gp-patient.co.uk/