New report launched on ‘Access to GP Services’

The Patient and Client Council has launched a new report entitled ‘Access to GP Services’, outlining the views of over 8200 people across Northern Ireland about accessing services at their local GP surgery.

The majority of respondents to the questionnaire (73.5%) said that, overall they were satisfied with access to their GP service, (41.8% fairly satisfied, 31.7% very satisfied).

However, there were some differences by demographic group, most notably with respondents aged 65 years old and over and those who were retired who were most satisfied in comparison with other groups; 25-64 year olds and those in employment were most dissatisfied in comparison with other groups.

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Maeve Hully Chief Executive, Patient and Client Council, said: “Good General Practitioner (GP) services are those that not only promote diagnosis, treatment, communication and preventative health care but also provide care which is easily accessible to patients.

“This study shows that patients have a variety of needs and priorities which they expect to be met when accessing their GP services.”

Nearly two thirds of patients want to see a particular doctor at their GP practice due to the familiarity, consistency and continuity of care that they can provide and because they have a good understanding of their medical history.

More than 50% of patients surveyed place more of a priority on wanting easier ways to make an appointment or to see their GP when they want, at a time convenient for them such as evenings and weekends.

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Maeve added: “A particular issue which a wide variety of people indicated difficulties with was contacting the GP practice by phone, more than half the people interviewed have this problem.

“Access to GP services is complex with different people wanting different things from their service. This project shows however that, to provide truly accessible services, GP practices must promote effective and flexible access, based on the needs of all their patients.

The Report can be downloaded at www.patientclientcouncil.hscni.net

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