More than a quarter of people rated their experience of booking an appointment as poor nationally, the highest proportion in six years, and the Government has said it was investing in GP services “to tackle the 8am rush” and improve patient experience.
We looked at the latest annual GP Patient Survey, produced by Ipsos on behalf of NHS England, which surveyed patients across the city, to find out which practices are doing best. The best practices in the city for appointments, according to the survey, can be seen in the gallery at the bottom of this story.
It surveyed people between January and April 2023, asking people what they thought about their local GP surgery, including their experiences of booking an appointment.
The results are published to GP practice level.
When patients were asked: “How would you describe your experience of making an appointment?’, more than a quarter (27.7 per cent) described it as poor nationally – the highest since current records began in 2018 and a 1.8 percentage point rise on the previous year’s figures when 25.9 per cent described their experience as poor.
More than half (54.4 per cent) of the respondents said their overall experience was ‘good’, but this is a 1.8 percentage point drop on the previous year’s figures and again the lowest in six years. A further 17.9 per cent said their overall experience of booking an appointment was ‘neither good nor poor’.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We’re committed to increasing capacity so GP practices can offer more appointments from more staff than ever before.
“Appointments are already on the rise, and we recently announced £240 million of support to practices across the UK to embrace the latest technology, tackle the 8am rush and make it easier for patients to see their GP.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We know how vital GPs are to local communities and we’re committed to increasing capacity so GP practices can offer more appointments from more staff than ever before.
“Appointments are already on the rise, and we recently announced £240million of support to practices across the UK to embrace the latest technology, tackle the 8am rush and make it easier for patients to see their GP.”
1. GP appointments
This gallery shows the 24 GP surgeries in Sheffield where patients found it easiest to get an appointment.Picture: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire Photo: Anthony Devlin
2. Jaunty Springs Health Centre
The experience of making an appointment at Jaunty Springs Health Centre was described as very good by 28%, and at least good by 64% Photo: Google
3. Meadowgreen Health Centre
The experience of making an appointment at Meadowgreen Health Centre was described as very good by 28%, and at least good by 65% Photo: Google
4. Gleadless Medical Centre
The experience of making an appointment at Gleadless Medical Centre was described as very good by 28%, and at least good by 68% Photo: Google