NHS North West London today shared a summary of key findings from over 100,000 residents who took part in an engagement exercise on access to general practice, which included a survey and public events led by local practices.
In an event at Brent Civic Centre, local people discussed the findings and next steps with our Chair Dr Penny Dash, CEO Rob Hurd and primary care leaders, including Dr Vijay Tailor, borough clinical director for Ealing, also the GP leading the primary care access programme. The findings will also be discussed at an online meeting for residents this evening.
Key findings include:
- the friendliness and professionalism of staff within our practices across NW London was highlighted and valued.
- patients report challenges in securing timely GP appointments, particularly in areas with higher demand.
- there are now more digital tools to support access to healthcare, but some patients report barriers to accessing or using these effectively.
- continuity of care is important to our patients, however some patients find it difficult to see the same GP as often as they would like.
- patient trust and engagement with GP services is a crucial part of accessing high quality care, but can be impeded by language barriers, cultural factors, and past experiences with healthcare.
Particular areas of challenge include the fact that 60% of survey respondents were unable to book an urgent appointment and just 42% were satisfied with their ability to book a same day appointment. Only Half of residents in more deprived areas said they were satisfied with access to their GP. 72% of patients said they could see a GP when they wanted to and an identical proportion found online prescriptions easy and convenient. Three quarters of respondents said healthcare staff were professional and attentive.
Dr Vijay Tailor said:
“We’re very grateful to everyone for sharing their views and experiences. Over 100,000 people responded to our survey – the highest response we have had to any public engagement exercise – and many more attended local events to discuss access issues with their GPs and practice teams. Access to general practice is also the single issue raised most with our involvement teams by the hundreds of residents they talk to every month, so we know it is a real issue for local people.
“The findings were fairly consistent across most areas, with some differences between different groups, including older and younger residents. It is interesting that while many people value continuity of care with the same GP, many others say it is more important to them to be seen quickly. We recognise that both needs should be catered for.
“We will combine the findings from this exercise with feedback from practice staff and ideas suggested by local GPs and health professionals working in primary care networks, to develop proposals to improve access across north west London. A full report on the survey and our proposed response will be discussed at our April board. It is clear we need to work with GPs and practices to act on what we have heard.”
Rob Hurd, said:
“A big thank you to all our residents in North West London who have been involved over the last couple of years and will continue to be involved in shaping our primary care services. You’ve told us that access to primary care on the day you need it is a key priority, and we are working to improve this.
"Today’s event was another great example of engagement, building on the thousands of people who have shared their views through our insight reporting and involvement strategy. A hundred thousand people have completed our survey, we had around 60 people join us in person today, and 130 more are attending our online event this evening. Your involvement is invaluable in helping us make services better for you, so thank you.”
Dr Penny Dash, said:
“We’ve had a good event this afternoon looking at the future of access to care, not just primary care but a wider range of services. We know there are long-standing challenges, but the good news is we have more staff from diverse backgrounds working across health services, as well as a range of digital tools. However, we heard today that having too many digital tools can be confusing, and we need to simplify and consolidate them.
"Many people are also unaware of the digital options available to access services and information. We had great discussions about the need to recognise the very different and often complex health needs of our 2.5 million residents, particularly as they age. A key piece of work ahead is ensuring our services meet these varied needs. It may feel challenging, but it’s something we absolutely must do to improve.”
A presentation pack summarising the key findings of the review is available here.