Patients' views on the NHS
Details of the first ever NHS survey of patients was published recently by the Department of Health. Over 64,000 people drawn from every health authority in England took part in this comprehensive survey of patients’ experiences of NHS family doctor services. The survey covered a wide range of issues including access, communications, patients’ views of GPs and practice nurses, quality and range of services including out of hours care and referrals by GPs to hospital.
Over 80 per cent of respondents (81 per cent) had seen their GP in the last year. The proportion was somewhat higher for women than for men and among men for older persons. Even among men aged under 45 years the proportion did not drop below 70 per cent. Four out of five patients thought their appointment with their GP was as soon as necessary although 19 per cent considered that their appointment should have been sooner than it was. Younger men and women tended to be more critical in this respect than older people. A quarter of patients said they usually had to wait four or more days for an appointment.
Once at the GP’s surgery three in five adults were seen within 15 minutes and 87 per cent were seen in less than half an hour, leaving 13 per cent who had to wait half an hour or more. Overall just over half of all patients spent between five and ten minutes with their GP; one in four spent less than five minutes; a similar proportion spent ten minutes or more, generally under 20 minutes. The time spent with the GP was the same for men and women but varied according to the age of the patient. The younger the patient the less time spent. A total of 87 per cent of patients thought their doctor spent the right amount of time with them leaving little over one in ten men and women who considered that their GP should have spent more time with them. Among the under 35s, the proportion saying their GP should spend more time varied between 16 per cent and 20 per cent.
More than two in five patients considered that they were not always given enough information about their condition or treatment. Women were more likely to take this view. Young people were also more critical of the amount of information given by their GPs. Very few patients reported difficulty in understanding their GPs. Eight out of ten patients considered that their GP took their opinions seriously and the same proportion said that their GPs listened to them no matter how busy they were. Younger people were less likely to hold this view.
Nearly half of patients surveyed, but only around one third of men and women under the age of 45, considered that the GP knew a lot about their medical history. None the less on the occasion of their last visit 84 per cent of patients considered that the GP was sufficiently well informed about their condition or treatment. A similar proportion thought that the GP took appropriate action on that occasion. Among those under 45, two thirds of women and one third of men considered it important to see a GP of their own sex.
One in two NHS patients had seen a practice nurse with some variation by age and sex. Patients over 65 and women patients were more likely to have visited a nurse while fewer than one third of men aged under 45 had seen a nurse. Ninety per cent of NHS patients felt that the nurse knew enough about their condition or treatment. Fewer than 1 per cent of NHS patients reported that nurses did not answer their questions and only one in 100 felt that the nurse did not take appropriate action to deal with the reason for the visit. Only 1 per cent of patients reported that the nurse did not treat them with courtesy and respect.
Over one in three patients had been referred by their GP to a specialist or hospital doctor with people over 65 being more likely to be referred. Only 2 per cent of patients felt they should have been referred in the last 12 months but were not. Eighty per cent of patients felt that the reason for their referral had been very clearly explained. Around one in ten patients were seen by a specialist on the same day they were referred by their GP. Around 50 per cent of those referred to a specialist or hospital doctor had to wait over a month for an appointment while 20 per cent had to wait over three months. More than one in three of those waiting for an appointment with a specialist considered that their conditions got worse while they were waiting to be seen.
