We visited 50 different sites for this work and received feedback from 516 patients.
Nearly half (46%) of respondents rated their experience of booking appointments as five out of five. Across doctors’ surgeries, there was a wide range of average rating for booking appointments. For surgeries where we received more than five surveys, this varied from an average of 1.8 to an average of 5.0 out of five.
Over half (54%) of respondents rated their overall experience with their doctors’ surgery as five out of five. Again, there was a wide range of average ratings across surgeries. For surgeries where we received more than five surveys, this varied from an average of 2.9 to an average of 5.0 out of five.
Based on our findings, we recommended
- Individual surgeries review phone systems and shorten waiting times on phones to reduce patient frustration.
- NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB create more opportunities for surgeries to share best practice and learning with each other, for example at Primary Care Network (PCN) meetings.
- Surgeries and their Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) take greater responsibility for communicating with their patients and actively communicate through appropriate methods, for example regular email newsletters and text updates.
- Continuing and consistent information sharing and engagement with patients, both at an NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB level, an individual surgery level, and with support from Healthwatch Norfolk.
- Recognising the pressure on the wider system, Healthwatch Norfolk to explore patient experiences at other front door health services, such as pharmacies, to ensure that there is sufficient and satisfactory support available.
