The Stamford Surgery response to Stamford patient survey and the national GP Survey feedback

 

We’d like to thank more than 1,800 patients who completed the Stamford Patient Survey in March this year and the 118 people who completed the national GP survey in January.   

After carefully analysing the results, we are taking the following actions to address issues raised:  

We will:  

  • Introduce a call back feature on the phones, meaning that patients can select an option for the surgery to call back when they have reached the top of the queue, rather than waiting on the phone.  
  • Continue to have an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to call handling, particularly during periods of high demand including 8am to 9am.  
  • Reinstate a prescription phone line, for queries only. Please continue to order repeat prescriptions via the NHS app, SystmOnline or through the repeat prescription box in surgery.  
  • Promote our health kiosk at Sheepmarket with posters, signage and a video to support patients in using it.     
  • Streamline the process for blood tests so patients do not have to make repeated visits, ie for medication reviews or monitoring  
  • Continue to recruit and train high calibre GP, clinical and non-clinical staff   
  • Continue to liaise with the Patient Participation Group (PPG) on suggestions of how to improve  
  • Take action where appropriate to improve our patients’ experience, eg the introduction of parking cameras at St Mary’s has alleviated the long standing issues of patients not being able to park for an appointment.  

The survey in March, showed improvements in all areas, when compared to the previous year, including in the number of patients who took part. There was an 20% increase in those finding it easy to contact us while telephone waiting times have improved. There was an 21% increase in patients being offered appointments compared to the previous year and the number receiving face to face appointments also rose by 23% to 57%.

Patients in 2024 were more satisfied on seven key measures: There was a 40-point rise with those happy with our staff, a 39-point increase in those satisfied with the service they received and a 36-point rise in those happy with their appointment. There was also a 30-point rise in people who would recommend our practice.  The survey highlighted general areas of concern around access, continuity of care and service delivery. After a careful review of all the responses submitted, we are hopeful that our actions taken should address these concerns raised by our patients.   

Lead GP, Dr Gavin Cattigan said:   

 ‘We had a huge number of responses to our own survey this year from patients when compared to the previous years, so thanks to everyone who took part. Your feedback is hugely important, and we read all comments to see where we could make the most difference.  

‘Hopefully these changes taken in direct response to this feedback will have a measurable effect and help keep patient satisfaction ratings on their current upward path. We are really pleased that the National GP Survey has shown a 26% increase in overall satisfaction with our service.   

‘We recognise there are still areas patients are worried about, such as appointment availability and continuity of care, but with the recruitment of more GPs coming over the second half of the year, we hope this will continue to build on the positive steps we have already made.   
‘We are still welcome to more feedback at any point, so if not done so already, please consider reaching out to our Patient Participation Group, who we meet with on a regular basis.'  

Published: Aug 1, 2024