Barrowford Surgery

Patient Reference Group

In 2013 we set up a Patient Reference Group. We have a virtual group of patients and other patients who we contact by telephone or post. We invited patients to join our group in varied ways, we put posters up around the waiting room and we asked opportunistically if patients would like to join.  We currently hold 8 members, of those 8 members we have aimed to reach a good representation of our patients. 6 are female and 2 are male, and the age groups is as follows:

Under 16 years           0 member

17-24 years                 0 members

25-50 years                 5 member

50-70 years                 5 members

70-84 years                 3 member

0  of our members have a disability.

2 of our members is a carer.

Our Survey

We contacted our group prior to carrying out a survey in 2014 to help assist us in which areas they felt we should make a priority when conducting our survey. The areas we focused on were:

Clinical care

Getting an appointment

Reception issues

Opening times

Parking

We had 3 responses, 2 focused on clinical care and 1 found all our services either very good or excellent.

 We also asked our group 2 questions put forward from our CCG.  The questions were as follows:

• Do you feel that your health outcomes would be improved if we put in place the best possible coordinated or “joined up” care for everyone who needs it, that is out of hospital?
• Do you feel that your health and social care needs are planned with people who work together as a team and talk to each other to understand you and your care needs? and how do you think we could best create joined up teams, for example, would you find it easier to see a physiotherapist or a dietician for example that was linked to your GP practice rather than visiting hospital?

We had one response to the above questions from the CCG which are as follows:

The member felt that more local health services could be provided better, and joined up care between hospital and community services should always be a priority to achieve the best possible care for patients.

And to the 2nd question, the member preferred to see a health professional at the practice wherever possible, if appropriate facilities and cross service protocols and procedures were in place.

Survey Results

The General Practice Assessment Questionnaire Results.

 

Question 1-

In the past 12 months how many times have you seen a doctor from your practice?

None	Once or Twice	Three or Four times	Five or Six times	Seven or more
4	18	18	11	8

 

Question 2-

How do you rate the way you are treated by receptionists at your practice?

Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent
0	0	7	13	24	18

 

Question 3-

a)      How do you rate the hours that your practice is open for appointments?

Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent
0	1	10	21	21	6

 

b)      What additional hours would you like the practice to be open? (please tick all that apply)

Early Morning	Lunch Times	Evenings	Weekends	None, I am satisfied
5	1	20	13	27

 

Question 4-

Thinking of times when you wanted to see a particular doctor: (please tick one box only)

a)      How quickly do you usually get to see that doctor?

Same Day	Next working day	Within 2 working days	Within 3 working days	Within 4 working days	5 or more working days	Does not apply
4	4	2	5	3	31	9

 

b)      How do you rate this?

Very  Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent	Does not apply
0	12	22	10	5	3	6

  

Question 5-

Thinking of times when you are willing to see any doctor: (please tick one bow only)

a)      How quickly do you usually get seen?

Same day	Next working day	Within 2 working days	Within 3 working days	Within 4 working days	5 or more working days	Does not apply
17	5	8	3	7	14	5

 

b)      How do you rate this?

Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent	Does not apply
2	4	19	6	10	9	5

 

Question 6-

If you need to see a GP urgently, can you normally get seen on the same day?

Yes	No	Don’t know/never needed to
34	4	20

 

Question 7-

a)      How long do you usually wait at the practice for your consultations to begin? (please tick one box only)

5 minutes or less	6-10 minutes	11-20 minutes	21-30 minutes	More than 30 minutes
2	14	31	7	6

 

b)      How do you rate this?

Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent
2	6	24	20	9	2

 

Question 8-

Thinking of the times you have phoned the practice, how do you rate the following:

a)      Ability to get through to the practice on the phone?

Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent	Don’t know/never tried
0	3	16	18	14	9	0

 

b)      Ability to speak to a doctor on the phone when you have a question or need medical advice?

Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent	Don’t know/never tried
2	1	1	4	1	3	35

 

Question 9-

This question asks about your usual doctor. If you don’t have a ‘usual doctor’, answer about the one doctor at your practice who you know best. If you don’t know any of the doctors, go straight to Question 10.

a)      In general how often do you see your usual doctor?

Always	Almost always	A lot of the time	Some of the time	Almost never	Never
12	22	7	11	2	0

 

b)      How do you rate this?

Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent
1	0	11	19	15	13

 

Question 10-

Thinking about you consultation with the doctor today, how do you rate the following:

a)      How thoroughly the doctor asked about your symptoms and how you are feeling?

Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent	Does not apply
0	0	0	11	22	23	0

 

b)      How well the doctor listened to what you had to say?

Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent	Does not apply
0	0	0	8	21	24	0

 

c)       How well the doctor put you at ease during your physical examination?

Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent	Does not apply
0	0	0	8	12	30	3

 

 d)      How much the doctor involved you in decisions about your care?

Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent	Does not apply
0	0	2	5	18	23	4

 

e)      How well the doctor explained your problems or any treatment that you needed?

Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent	Does not apply
0	0	0	12	15	22	3

 

f)       The amount of time your doctor spent with you today?

Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent	Does not apply
0	0	3	8	20	23	0

 

g)      The doctor’s patience with your questions or worries?

Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent	Does not apply
0	0	0	9	15	25	3

 

h)      The doctor’s caring and concern for you?

Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent	Does not apply
0	0	0	8	19	26	0

 

Question 11-

After seeing the doctor today do you feel…

a)      Able to understand your problem(s) or illness?

Much more than before the visit	A little bit more than before the visit	The same or less than before the visit	Does not apply
18	13	8	9

  

b)      Able to cope with your problem(s) or illness?

Much more than before the visit	A little bit more than before the visit	The same or less than before the visit	Does not apply
18	14	6	8

 

c)       Able to keep yourself healthy?

Much more than before the visit	A little bit more than before the visit	The same or less than before the visit	Does not apply
15	14	3	14

 

Question 12-

Are you…

Male	Female
18	32

 

Question 13-

How old are you?

0-21 years	22-35 years	36-45 years	46-55 years	56-65 years	65+ years
4	6	13	5	11	8

 

Question 14-

Do you have any long standing illness, disability or infirmity? By longstanding we mean anything that has troubled you over a period of time that is likely to affect you over a period of time.

Yes	No
21	26

 

Question 15-

Which ethnic group do you belong to? (Please tick one box only)

White	Black/Black British	Asian/Asian British	Mixed	Chinese	Other ethnic group
46	0	0	0	0	0

  

Question 16-

Is your accommodation: (please tick one box only)

Owner-occupied mortgaged?	Rented or other arrangements?
41	5

 

Question 17-

Which of the following best describes you?

Employed (full or part time including self-employed)	Unemployed and looking for work	At school or in full time education	Unable to work due to long term sickness	Looking after your home/family	Retired from paid work	Other
23	1	4	4	2	11	0

 

Question 18-

We are interested in any other comments you may have.

Is there anything particularly good about your healthcare?

• Enjoy the warmth and banter, also the great treatment from the practice nurses, doctors  and receptionists.
• Always looked after and listened to, never rushed.
• Totally satisfied
• I always feel listened to and involved.
• Pleasant staff.
• Fairly regular reviews and routine tests.
• Comfortable surgery environment and waiting area.
• Doctor is very friendly, nurses and staff also.

Is there anything that could be improved?

• Would like to see a lady doctor.
• Getting through to reception takes several attempts.
• Waiting time for doctor is too long.
• Why is surgery closed on Thursday afternoons?
• Would like evening hours for doctor for people who work.
• Would like to see female doctor.
• I miss having a female doctor.
• Late evenings on some days would be good.

 Survey Findings

The survey findings have been emailed to our Patient Reference Group for their response; as yet we have not yet had any responses back. We have also added information regarding survey findings to our Jayex board offering all our patients the chance to have a copy of the survey results if they wish.

We have had a practice meeting to discuss our survey findings and we have put in place an action plan: