GPAQ PATIENT SURVEY (GP Assessment Questionnaire)

At Mendip Country Practice a variety of questionnaires have been completed over the years to help us not only survey the views of our patients using primary care services but to help the staff as a team look at issues and make any necessary decisions for change or improvement.

During October 2007 we asked patients to participate in the GPAQ Patient Questionnaire as we have done in previous years. As per all our previous surveys this was well promoted before to our patients, making clear to patients that although they were not obliged to take part, their help and time was appreciated for feedback in the appraisal of the practice.

Using the GPAQ questionnaire, we handed out questionnaires to patients one after the other as they came into surgery – to every patient irrespective of who they were seeing.

Although it was only necessary to complete 50 questionnaires per regular GP, as a training practice we did also include our GP Registrar, Dr Chris Lloyd, feeling that any feedback for him is a valuable part of his training.

All results were entered onto the GPAQ formula spreadsheet that gave us combined information for presentation to the team. We discussed the results of the survey as a whole, with all answers combined. Then, purely for in-house purposes and the GP appraisal process, results for each particular GP were presented for their own personal feedback/appraisal.

The practice team looked at the questionnaire results in detail to ascertain any other reasons for the results obtained, or any further changes that might prove beneficial to our patients. The following observations were made:

• The survey was well organised again, we had lots of really good positive feedback and patients were happy to spend some time after their appointment filling in the questionnaire.
   
• Some patients indicated they would like extended hours of opening ie. evenings or weekends – although we were surprised at the low level of this request, it does fit in with the results of the Government run survey last year showing that in Somerset 86% of patients are happy with opening hours as they are. We are aware that extended openings hours may become an issue in the future but await more information and advice from Government.
   
• One patient stated that allergy testing should be more available on the NHS.

Q3a/b Satisfaction with opening hours and Additional opening hours requested
We offer earlier start surgery at 8am and will continue with this. Telephone lines are open 8am-6.30pm and we offer a range of appointment times Monday to Friday. Our access records are very good although we do have to bear in mind that some patients prefer to wait longer for a particular GP. We have a new website which will hopefully have the capability to offer patients on-line booking from a selection of appointments, but we have more work ahead to enable this.

Q4a Availability of particular GP
As in previous years the survey shows some dissatisfaction on this question – this we know refers to Dr Irish and Dr Musgrove. Both are very popular GPs, but both work part-time at the practice, therefore if patients want to specifically wait to see either of them, there can be a longer wait. Receptionists offer earlier appointments but with an alternative GP, but some patients do opt to wait for the GP of their choice.

Q7a Satisfaction with waiting times once at the practice
We fell down on part of the timing of giving out this questionnaire (ideally should be handed out in a ‘typical full week’). Our GP Registrar videoing his consultations (as required by all GP Registrars) whilst the questionnaire was going on – so invariably some of his consultations ran late which affected our overall combined result. However, over the last couple of years we have definitely improved waiting times by introducing a ‘catchup slot’ in the middle of every surgery (as a result of a GPAQ survey). We agreed that next year don’t do the videos at the same time as the questionnaire and that we should also put up a poster advising patients if a GP is videoing their consultations and therefore may run late (at the moment the patients are told when they come to reception).

Q8a – Satisfaction with Phoning Through to Reception
We know there have been times when reception have been so busy, even with prioritising answering the phone, it has been difficult to answer all calls quickly. We thought the response for this question would have been more negative. However, to maintain a quick and efficient service for our patients, we have on our new telephone system the option of automated answering. We are not keen on this ‘impersonal’ way of answering the phone, but we agreed to perhaps pilot this for couple months, on a quieter morning (Weds) and review in the new year. Patients need the phone to be answered quickly – automated answering would give routing options that would take calls away from the receptionists (ie. to medical secretaries etc) that would in turn enable receptionists to answer calls more efficiently.

Q9a Continuity of seeing same GP
Good – as a small rural practice we pride ourselves in the personal touch and ability to provide good continuity of care with doctors getting to know their list well.

It was agreed that we would follow up this years GPAQ survey with another – the GPAQ Nurses Survey. We will do this by the end of Dec 07.
We also plan to do another survey looking more in-depth at the reception team/dispensary and premises. This will take place May/June 08.

The issues discussed today were remarkably similar to those last year.

Our main achievement from last year is to have completed our website which now just needs tweaking to make it possible to book appointments on-line and also to order repeat medications. This will be well publicised during 07/08 to increase the way in which patients can get information about the surgery, but also increase their communication with us and make us more accessible.

There is little we can do about availability of our two part-time GPs – this comes up every year. We have made a concerted effort over the last year to automatically offer another sooner appointment with a different GP, but some of our patients will insist on waiting for a specific GP – we have to respect their choice.

During the last year we have also promoted our telephone slots that are offered after morning surgery (whereby the GP will ring the patient), but feel we need to keep on top of this and make sure there is always a poster in reception / note included in the newsletter that goes in parish magazine etc.

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