GP Project: overall report

Since we were formed in 2013, General Practice has been a key priority area for Healthwatch Richmond.

We've spoken to hundreds of patients and professionals about their experiences of general practice through:

25 visits to almost half of Richmond's GP practices
80 outreach sessions to groups and organisations sessions reaching over 1000 people
100 calls and emails from patients regarding general practice
Holding a Public Forum on general practice at the beginning of 2014 bringing 98 patients and professionals together to identify what makes good care

We visited and reviewed services of 13 GP practices.

What we found

The clinical care of patients we have spoken to is very positive. Most of the comments praised the caring nature of staff and the quality of the care that they receive.
Getting appointments was the most common concern for patients at around half of the practices that we visited. Around 1 in 4 people who can't get a GP appointment when they want will go to A&E or Walk in Centres.
Booking appointment went well when practices have automated telephone and online booking systems that are advertise to patients effectively.
In some people didn't have the privacy they deserved when at reception and in one case could be overheard during consultation with the GP.
In only a small number of practices patients had good access to information e.g. community support groups, advice for staying active, information on accessing healthcare when the GP was closed and translation services. We felt that this could be improved at other practices and we'd be really pleased to help them do this.
Patient groups were active and making a difference to care in many of the practices that we visited. Most wanted more support to engage with and get other patients involved.

Download our full overview GP report here.

Overview report

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