General Practice in Richmond - Patient Experience Report
We designed a survey looking at:
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Contact routes: how patients like to get in contact with their GP surgery, e.g. over the phone, online or in-person.
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How appointments take place: how patients prefer appointments to take place, in-person, phone, video, home visit and over correspondences.
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Additional roles in general practice: this includes physician associates, paramedics, pharmacists and more.
2,700 residents participated in our survey. Thank you to everyone who has shared their experiences with us.
We are thankful to everyone who was involved in the design and dissemination of our survey: GP patient participation groups; practice managers; GPs; and the Richmond General Practice Alliance. We thank all of them for their help and hope our research has identified some solutions that could improve access for patients.
Key Findings
- Phone and in-person contact should be prioritised as they are the preferred and most accessible routes for all Richmond residents.
- There is an appetite for digital contact routes, if they are easy to use.
- Neither contacting GP practices by calling at 8am or logging on at midnight serves patients well.
- Changes need to be made to online prescription ordering so that patients are alerted when their order has been processed.
- Maintain flexibility around contact routes. Enable patients to get in touch with their GP through whichever contact route suits them best
- Timely appointments need to be available to all patients.
- Enable patients to see their GP of choice within a reasonable time frame.
- The systems around and the care provided through phone appointments needs to change.
- Clarify what those in additional roles can provide for patients.
- Ensure that patients know who they will be seeing for their appointment and that practice staff introduce themselves.
Downloads
Click below to download an executive summary or the full report.
