How To Rate Christchurch Family Medical Practice

Transcription

1 Christchurch Family Medical Centre Patient Survey Report INTRODUCTION Patient Involvement has been a key initiative of the Department of Health over the last few years to ensure that patients are involved in giving feedback to aid developments in the provision and quality of care they access. I arrived at the Practice last year and as the new Practice Manager I am keen to improve our services to patients, and enhance patient involvement, at Christchurch Family Medical Centre. My main aim has been to ascertain patients views (through a patient survey), and to determine current levels of patient satisfaction, about the range and quality of services offered at the Practice. Simultaneously, we have also offered and encouraged patients to sign up to join our new Patient Reference Group (PRG). This is a virtual group to seek patients views on our services via or post throughout the year. It will aid the Partners and I in developing and improving the services that matter to you. THE SURVEY During the Autumn 2013, the Practice distributed the survey as widely as possible during open days, influenza clinics, with prescriptions and as handouts to patients visiting the practice. We also gave it to local Pharmacies to extend it to those that do not regularly attend the Practice. We endeavoured to target as many patients as possible, and ran the survey for 6 consecutive weeks from 1 st October I met many patients in the waiting room throughout this period and was able to explain first-hand what we were hoping to achieve from this survey. The survey concentrated on two main areas: access and information and communication. The results are captured in the rest of this report. Many constructive and positive responses were received, and the Practice wishes to thank everyone who took part in supporting us through this new initiative. I plan to meet with a group of representatives from the PRG to discuss the results and put together an action plan to ensure we continue to improve our standards and make changes to our service that matter to our patients. Page 1 of 18

2 The Results PART ONE: Part one of the survey was about your satisfaction of our services at Christchurch Family Medical Practice. QUESTION 1: How often to you use our services? 50% 46% 45% 40% 35% 30% 29% 25% 20% 15% 13% 10% 5% 0% 0% 4% Daily Weekly Monthly Up to 4 times per year 2% 1% Twice a Year Once a year Less than once a year 5% Rarely The majority of patients answering this question were fairly frequent with 88% attending the practice for a variety of healthcare needs more than twice a year. Page 2 of 18

3 QUESTION 2: How satisfied are you with the Practice opening hours? 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 51% 40% 30% 27% 20% 10% 0% Very satisified Fairly satisfied Neither satisfied / dissatisfied 8% 8% 2% Fairly dissatisfied Very dissatisfied I'm not sure when the practice is open 5% 78% of patients were very or fairly satisfied with the Practice opening hours, whilst 8% did not give a preference, and 10% were dissatisfied. 5% of patients were not informed as to when the Practice was open and services available to them. Page 3 of 18

4 QUESTION 3: Generally, how easy do you find it to contact the Practice via the telephone? I have never tried 4% Very easy 10% Very difficult 13% Fairly easy 34% Fairly difficult 27% Neither easy/difficult 12% 40% of patients found it very or fairly difficult to contact the Practice via the telephone. 12% gave no preference, and 44% found if fairly or very easy to make contact with the Practice via the telephone. 4% of patients had never tried to contact the Practice via the telephone. Page 4 of 18

5 Question 4 and Question 5 asked patients to specifically comment on our services. The comments are captured below: QUESTION 4: What do you like the MOST about our services? The friendly atmosphere All the staff are friendly, helpful and treat you personally The Doctor is thorough and direct Very good Receptionists are friendly! Ability to speak with a Doctor at short notice Really nice staff etc. Everyone is always very polite I like the name, and the staff are so friendly It s friendly and efficient Doctors give excellent help and advice Doctors are all approachable and explain any treatment needed thoroughly. The Minor Illness nurse is excellent and a very useful service Helpful receptionists; doctors who listen and advise, as well as prescribe and refer when necessary The staff are friendly and care for me I have learning disabilities Trustworthy surgery The staff are user friendly Page 5 of 18

6 QUESTION 4 continued: What do you like the MOST about our services? It s a really friendly atmosphere I like being asked for my opinion. Usually all the staff are friendly and helpful Friendly staff It s all very good It s convenient and has been excellent for my husband s emergency calls/appointments The staff are always pleasant A very good service no complaints Staff friendliness and a good, fast response when a serious medical problem occurs The Nurse Practitioner service is excellent The Nurse-led long-term disease clinics are very useful. I have always found the service to respond promptly Really good, and very polite doctors and staff Team spirit, range of consulting rooms and the sensitivity of doctors and nurses Courtesy & patience of reception team Excellent, caring doctors and nurses I can see improvements being made in all services. I like the seating arrangements in reception and the staff are friendlier than in the past Kindness, helpfulness and friendliness from all the members of the team Page 6 of 18

7 QUESTION 4 continued: What do you like the MOST about our services? Pleasant environment The doctor-triage system is excellent The patience of the reception staff who are obviously working under great pressure Considerate staff The touch screen check-in is useful. Dr Foster is an outstanding GP providing understanding and support when my daughter became seriously ill Courteous reception staff Dr Corcoran is an extremely caring doctor Very pleasant receptionists, very good doctors I ve never had a bad experience. The Nurse Practitioner provides an amazing service. All staff are very professional and helpful Early/late opening times and the online booking system Lots of services under one roof The polite and friendly staff. The doctors really take time to try to understand and help you. Everyone is caring Staff are excellent! Most helpful. I hear some surgeries are not good at reception mine is the best! Keep it up everyone You are good listeners Friendly, professional and helpful staff. Great GPs and the ethos of care and professionalism is excellent Page 7 of 18

8 QUESTION 4: What do you like the MOST about our services? Other, 10% Services, 16% Staff Attitude/Professionalism, 44% Quality of Clinical Care, 31% The chart shows an overview of themes arising out of the comments made by patients. Page 8 of 18

9 QUESTION 5: What do you like the LEAST about our services? The telephones do not get answered, more availability of evening appointments It s difficult to make an appointment Appointment times often run late Parking Can t always see my own doctor (he is very popular!) More appointments needed Getting through on the telephones Trying to find a parking space Difficulty in phoning through for blood results It s very difficult to get through on the telephones Nobody answers the telephones Sometimes it is difficult to get a reply to a phone call. Trying to get through on the phone is hard, and the appointment system needs improving Sometimes appointments feel rushed Availability of appointments The telephone system does not update you re. waiting times. I have also been cut off whilst waiting Page 9 of 18

10 QUESTION 5 continued : What do you like the LEAST about our services? Difficult to park. I also find it frustrating to wait so long for your appointment It can sometimes be difficult to get an appointment The Receptionists ask for too much confidential information The frustration of phoning, waiting for a long time for the call to be answered and then, when finally getting through, finding that all the appointments have gone. The parking situation is very difficult Sometimes there are real problems getting through on the telephones. Uncertain re. prescription request method and collection Current system for ordering repeat prescriptions seems more muddled and less efficient Could do with (1) more privacy in the reception area, (2) could do with more reception staff, (3) does anyone disinfect the online check-in screen? Having to ring or call back again. The car park is too small. No out of hours cover 111 is a disgrace! I don t like having to physically come to the Practice to order my repeat prescription, in my case it s every 10 days The telephone rings and rings for ages before it is answered. Sometimes it cuts off and I have to ring again and again Trying to get through on the telephone Phones are never answered and the appointments are never on time Too long queues at reception Give patients more choice to see the Doctor or Nurse of their choice The time waiting at reception there is usually only one receptionist, the queue invariably stretches out the door. The time taken to answer the phone is too long Page 10 of 18

11 QUESTION 5 continued : What do you like the LEAST about our services? Need to improve repeat prescriptions process and bookings online Breakdown in communication when trying to book appointments in advance Waiting times are too long, improve patients time with the doctor The long wait for someone to answer the telephone Hard to make appointments The parking Keep the website updated Can t get an appointment with the doctor of your choice Ringing at 8am to get an appointment that day! Unable to get through to reception to make a booking Parking is a problem Put more information on the website Unable to contact via telephone just rings and rings Access to car park and finding a space during school time. Page 11 of 18

12 QUESTION 5: What do you like the LEAST about our services? Other - various, 13% Car Parking, 15% Telephone System, 38% Prescriptions, 7% Waiting time, 7% Appointment booking, 20% The chart shows an overview of themes arising out of the comments made by patients. Page 12 of 18

13 QUESTION 5: What should we IMPROVE based on this answer? Improve the time needed to wait before the phone is answered More time in consultations Implement a better telephone system Get more telephones and more staff answering them The appointment problem is difficult to answer as I am aware of the existing pressure on the service You are doubling your workload by asking patients to call back Clarity of the different systems i.e. a patient leaflet More staff on desk A computerised repeat prescription system would be helpful Have a call-waiting/in queue message on the telephone system to reassure patients Have more staff answering the telephones Appointments need to be longer Have at least two receptionists on the front desk at all times. Have a phone system that gives a choice of who you need to speak to More receptionist answering phones Have more open surgeries to come and sit and wait Provide more car parking Page 13 of 18

14 QUESTION 6: Would you recommend the Practice to friends/family/someone who has just moved to the area? No Preference, 8% No, 3% Yes, 89% Satisfaction levels can often be attributed to whether a patient would be willing to recommend services or a Practice to friends and relatives. 89% of patients who answered felt they would be willing to recommend us as a good practice in the area. Page 14 of 18

15 PART TWO: Part two of the survey was about information and communication at Christchurch Family Medical Practice. QUESTION 7 & 8: Which of the following methods would you PREFER to use to (1) book appointments; (2) order repeat prescriptions? 100% 90% Booking Appointments Repeat Prescriptions 80% 70% 60% 53% 50% 40% 30% 27% 35% 24% 34% 20% 18% 10% 0% 7% 6% 2% 0% In person By phone Online via your Pharmacy No preference An increasing number of patients (52% for repeat prescriptions and 24% for booking appointments) wanted to be able to use remote methods either by using online or other health professionals to organise their services. 62% of patients still preferred to do this in person when they visit the practice. Many patients (53%) still preferred to book appointments via the telephone. Page 15 of 18

16 QUESTION 9: How can we best communicate changes or new services in the practice to our patients? Other i.e., 12% Leaflets, 12% Patient Newsletter, 52% Website, 23% Patient Participation Group, 1% Notices, 16% Overwhelmingly, a patient newsletter was considered one of the best ways to communicate changes or new services in the practice to our patients. An increasing number of patients felt that the website (if improved) would be a valuable place to share information. Equally, suggestions were made (captured under other) to consider use of letters, s and text messaging. Page 16 of 18

17 QUESTION 11 & 12: Did you know that the Practice has a website and if so, how easy is it to find information on our website? Fairly hard, 12% Very hard, 2% Very easy, 25% Neither easy nor hard, 10% Fairly easy, 51% Of patients surveyed, 42% knew the Practice had a website, whilst 41% were not aware. Of those that did know we had a website, 76% found it easy to use, whilst 10% had no preference, and 14% found it more difficult to use. Patients that found it more difficult to use felt that updating the website would make it more useful. Page 17 of 18

18 FOLLOW ON / ACTION We intend to display this report for patients and staff to review making it available in our waiting room and staff areas on our website via to our Patient Reference Group (PRG) members Now the results have been collated, we will be asking a small group of members of the PRG to volunteer to help us compile a service improvement action plan. Following our meeting the action plan will be published on our website before the end of March. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincerest thanks to all those patients that took time and effort to complete a survey and give us this valuable feedback. It is my intention to continue this work with our patients to help us improve the standard of services offered at the Practice. Nicky Yates Practice Manager On behalf of the Partners at Christchurch Family Medical Centre Page 18 of 18