Watlingtn and Chalgrve GP - Patient Satisfactin Survey 2011 Backgrund During ne week in Nvember last year patients attending either the Chalgrve r the Watlingtn surgeries were asked t cmplete a survey abut the. The purpse f the survey was t measure patient satisfactin with regard t varius cmpnents f the and t highlight areas where the culd imprve as well as thse in which it perfrms well. The cmpleted questinnaires, which were sent away t PatientDynamics fr analysis, have nw been returned and three patients frm the Patient Participatin Grup have studied the results and made sme recmmendatins based n the findings which are utlined belw. This type f survey has been cnducted in previus years, recmmendatins made, many f which have been implemented, and changes intrduced t address patient cncerns. Hwever, unlike in previus years, there are n benchmark figures which relate t the natinal findings which mean that this year it is nt pssible t cmpare ur with thers lcally r natinally. This is because the pted fr a bespke survey which included sme additinal questins relevant t this fr which the was keen t have feedback frm the patients. The reasn fr this decisin was s that ur Patient Grup culd add questins, pertinent t ur, that they felt were imprtant and were nt included in the basic questinnaire. The Patient Participatin Grup was asked t suggest any questins they felt fell int the abve categry and f the nes prpsed the chse 3 t add t the questinnaire. Next year the same system will prbably be used and it will be pssible t lk back at this year s survey results and make cmparisns. In future years it will be pssible t identify trends in levels f satisfactin t. The data available and frm which the bservatins have been made was gained frm infrmatin prvided by in excess f 200 patients attending each surgery during a week in Nvember. It thus prvides nly a snapsht picture f patients views abut the. It des hwever indicate areas that can be cmmended and built upn as well as thers that the may be able t address. Sme issues are repeating and lng-standing nes fr which there has been n bvius r wrkable slutin. The attached chart gives an indicative picture f patients levels f satisfactin with a range f areas cvered by the survey questins. It must be stressed that the infrmatin shuld be cnsidered alngside additinal factrs such as the differences in cmpsitin and expectatins f the tw grups f patients and the fact sme questins did nt necessarily apply t all patients and therefre were nt rated by all respndents. 1
Watlingtn and Chalgrve GP - Patient Satisfactin Survey 2011 Findings In previus years the verall level f satisfactin with the was high and exceeded the natinal benchmark figures and it is clear that the level f satisfactin remains high this year t. The vast majrity f patients are very happy with the verall service and standard f care that they receive at bth surgeries. There are sme areas and issues with which patients satisfactin levels are lwer and these have been discussed with the Manager in rder t determine what, if anything, can be dne t address them. The mst salient findings are: Bth surgeries scred highly in mst f the 19 areas analysed n the attached chart. Chalgrve had an verall average mark f 8.39 cmpared t 7.97 fr Watlingtn. Individual marks ranged between 7.6 and 9.1 in 16 f the areas analysed. Bth averages were depressed by relatively lw marks in just 3 areas. Waiting times; traditinally a surce f cncern fr patients Ability t get thrugh t the practice n the phne; again, this has been highlighted in previus surveys. Ability t speak t a dctr when seeking advice; whilst the marks fr this are relatively lw (7.2 fr Chalgrve and 5.8 fr Watlingtn), they reflect mainly Fair t Gd scres rather than the Gd t Excellent scre in many f the ther categries. Als, it shuld be nted that ver 40% f respndents t the survey have never tried t d this s, whilst the result has been nted, it is nt cnsidered t be a majr surce f discntent. The areas relating t quality f care were rated highly at bth surgeries. With regard t waiting times; Over 90% f respndents said that they were happy with the current patient call system. Hwever the amunt f time a patient has t wait t see the Dctr is a recurring issue. Results frm the survey indicate that waiting times are generally higher at Watlingtn than at Chalgrve. This is in line with surveys undertaken in previus years and is smething that the Manager and dctrs at bth surgeries have made effrts t address. Althugh appintments are allcated it is impssible t determine in advance exactly hw lng each ne will take. The alternative wuld be t have fixed time allcatins fr appintments which wuld almst certainly be difficult t enfrce and smething that bth medical staff and patients wuld be extremely unhappy with. Mst patients appreciate this and accept that the call number system gives a reasnable idea f hw lng they will have t wait. Sme f the respndents suggested slutins such as an electrnic bard with a digital display t shw waiting times but this wuld be n mre accurate t predict, and hence display, than the current number system. One way that patients can assist with the prcess is t bk a duble appintment if they feel that their cnsultatin will take mre time than the average. Abut ne-third f the patients surveyed said that were nt aware that this facility exists. 2
Watlingtn and Chalgrve GP - Patient Satisfactin Survey 2011 If the receptinists are aware f a lng delay r if a Dctr is suddenly called ut t an emergency they d infrm patients and ffer t bk an alternative appintment. As always, the staff appreciate the patients patience when an unexpected delay ccurs. With regard t accessing the surgeries by phne, the has always acknwledged that there are certain times f the day when it can be very difficult t get thrugh n the phne t bk an appintment. In rder t address this, the intrduced an nline bking system which enables patients t check when a Dctr is available and bk an appintment via their cmputer 24 hurs per day, 7 days per week. Althugh 494 patients have registered fr this system (a very simple prcess) nt many actually make use f it; apprximately 2 appintments are bked nline per day. The wuld request that patients with internet access cnsider this ptin. Fr thse patients wh d nt have access t the Internet, it is recmmended t endeavur aviding phning at peak times and wait until after 10.00 in the mrning when the receptin is less busy. This wuld als apply t the third item f speaking t a dctr n the phne as it is difficult fr them t interrupt a face t face patient cnsultatin t speak t anther patient n the phne. Hwever, mst f the dctrs are happy t speak t patients n the phne nce their surgery is finished and receptin staff will be able t advise the best time t call. Several respndents indicated that they were unaware that it is pssible t bk an appintment fr a Saturday mrning. Althugh it is nt pssible t have a fixed timetable fr each surgery with regard t Saturday mrnings as it depends n the availability f the Dctrs, ne f the surgeries will be always pen n Saturday mrnings. A Saturday mrning appintment ptin was ne f the initiatives intrduced by the fllwing previus surveys in which patients had requested this ptin. Althugh the same nurses rtate between the tw surgeries, the patients at Chalgrve scred higher ratings than thse at Watlingtn. This culd be due t a number f factrs including different levels f expectatin between the tw surgeries and differences in the cmpsitin f the tw patient grups. In additin t the answers t specific questins in the frm f ratings, respndents were invited t make general cmments. Over 95% said that they were happy with the cmfrt level f the waiting rms. Over 80% were happy with the facilities in the waiting rm. mre tys were tw suggestins put frward by respndents. Backgrund music and These have been discussed with the Manager and will nt be recmmended based n her explanatins relating t the cst f 100 s t btain a licence t play music in a public place (which is hw playing the radi in waiting rms is cnsidered) and t Health and Safety issues which have led the t nly prvide play items which can be cleaned regularly t prevent infectin issues ccurring. 3
Watlingtn and Chalgrve GP - Patient Satisfactin Survey 2011 Recmmendatins All the recmmendatins frm previus surveys have been implemented with the exceptin f nline repeat prescriptin rdering via the nline appintment system. This has nt been intrduced as the is nt cnfident that the system is as yet reliable enugh. With regard t the findings f this year s survey, the fllwing recmmendatins are made: A cncerted effrt t increase public awareness in the fllwing areas. Cnclusins The nline bking f appintments system. Receptinists will ask patients if they wuld like t register when they g t the surgery and this can then be cmpleted befre the patient leaves that day. The availability f Saturday mrning appintments. The website. Launched in the last few mnths, the has put a lt f effrt int cmpiling and maintaining a website yet it appears that nly a few patients actually visit the site. Greater publicity f the website wuld increase patients awareness f infrmatin abut the. The existence f the Patient Participatin Grup. Again, frmed in the last few mnths, the purpse f the grup is t prvide a link between the and patients. Overall, patients are very satisfied with the and staff at bth surgeries are t be cngratulated n the level f service and care enjyed by their patients. There are areas where levels f satisfactin culd be higher but these tend t be nes fr which there is nt an bvius r wrkable slutin. It is hped that with the frmatin f the Patient Participatin Grup (PPG), and the link that this prvides between the patients and the staff, patients will have greater access t infrmatin abut the and abut health-related issues which cncern them. The maintains and regularly updates a website which can be fund at www.watlingtn-surgeries.nhs.uk It cvers a range f areas including nline bking f appintments, NHS news, fact sheets n different cnditins and supprt grups fr carers. The PPG prduces a regular Newsletter abut the which is psted n the website, via e-mail if address prvided and available at the surgeries in hardcpy frmat. Please cntact either the Manager (01865 890760) r any member f the PPG n wat.chal@nhs.net with any cmments abut the findings f the survey r any ther issue yu may have. The is cmmitted t maintaining high levels f satisfactin fr the service it prvides and wuld welcme yur feedback. 4
Watlingtn and Chalgrve GP - Patient Satisfactin Survey 2011 Actin Plan Issue frm Reprt Special Ntes Target t be Achieved Hw it will be Achieved Time span Mnitred By Levels f satisfactin T build n the strengths identified in the Survey Reprt and at a very minimum maintain the levels f satisfactin achieved this year. Regular staff meetings t address and discuss issues arising. Regular cntact with PPG t build the link between the and its patients and thus maintain dialgue and channels f cmmunicatin and infrmatin. On-ging Manager and/r Getting thrugh t the by telephne A prblem befre 10.00a.m. generally T increase the number f patients registered fr the nline bking f appintments system during 2012. T encurage the use f this system. Receptinists t ask patients t cmplete the registratin prcess when they attend the surgery. Campaign week alng the lines f the cllectin f e-mail addresses day. Watlingtn Parish News. Psters in waiting rms. On-ging Manager and/r Waiting times at the surgery A recurring issue fr which there is n bvius slutin T increase awareness f Saturday mrning appintments. Watlingtn Parish News. Psters in waiting rms. Once every 3 mnths Manager and/r Patients unaware f certain infrmatin abut the T increase the awareness and use f the website during 2012. T increase publicity f the PPG and its Newsletter Watlingtn Parish News. Psters in the waiting rms. Cntinue t mnitr the number f hits t the website. On-ging Website administratr and PPG 5