Drs Rodgett, Weiss & Stallard
MITCHELDEAN SURGERY
WAITING AREA SURVEY ON ACCESS
Tuesday 21st February - 9.30-11.30 am
1.Summary
23 patients participated in the Survey, all of whom were adult. Many added comments beyond those which were requested by this Survey. The majority were very pleased with all aspects of the Practice.
2.Statistical Breakdown
15 female patients and 8 male patients were questioned.
17 appointments were with a Doctor and 6 with the Nurse or Health Care Assistant.
6 patients were employed or self employed
3.Questions
3.1Question 1 - How did you make your appointment?
By phone14
At the Surgery 9
Booked in advance15
3.2Question 2
If by phone was it easy to get through?
Yes14
Did you have to wait long to speak to someone?
No14
3.3Question 3 - Did you want to see a particular Doctor or Nurse?
Yes22
No 1
If yes, did you get an appointment with the person you wantedto see?
Yes22
3.4Question 4 - How long did you have to wait between booking the appointment and actually seeing the Doctor/Nurse?
15 of the appointments were booked in advance. The time span between booking and the actual appointment for the remaining 8 was 0-4 working days. This was deemed perfectly acceptable by patients, many of whom had been offered an earlier appointment with another doctor but had chosen to wait. Several stated that they knew the Doctor would be on holiday and so had expected the delay.
3.5Question 5 – Any general comments you would like to make?
1.Two patients were new to the Practice and both found it welcoming and very good. One made comparisons with her previous surgery in Banbury where it often took 3 weeks to get an appointment.
2. On the whole all patients were very happy with the Practice and the appointment system. Some expanded with comments as follows:-
“All the family come here. We never have problems with getting appointments and when the children were ill we were told to bring them in straight away. They are very accommodating and very good”.
“We’re extremely lucky to have such a good Practice”.
“Very good, staff and doctors always polite”.
“Today’s appointment was a follow up booked in advance, but when there are any problems I ring up and get an appointment straight away.”
“We have been with this Practice for a long time, nearly forty years. Things are very good now and they are all very helpful -a big difference to many years ago”.
“This is a very good Surgery, I have had very good care”.
“I have never had a problem with getting an appointment, this is an excellent Practice”.
3. One patient made the point that closing the Dispensary in the afternoon was not very “customer friendly”
4. One patient was very unhappy. He worked in Gloucester and had to leave work to attend a mid-morning appointment. He had found it difficult to make an appointment at a time to suit him. He was going to talk with the doctor about it.
5. A husband and wife were both attending for diabetic reviews.They like to come together and travel by bus. They never have problems in getting a suitable appointment and stated that everyone is very good and they know you.
6. Two patients commented about staff using either first names or surnames and felt that the use was appropriate.
4.General Comments arising from this Survey
1. One person I approached did not wish to participate.
2. Several patients wanted to talk about the Patient Forum and the Notice Board. Two expressed concern about the number of missed appointments. Several had used the Website and the Newsletter.
3. Only six people worked and one had problems with appointments. Two worked part-time and one was self-employed so they were more flexible in terms of availability for appointments.
4. The one person who had appointment difficulties was aware of the opportunity to discuss it with the Practice Manager but did not wish to do so.
5. On only two occasions were people called before we had finished the questions - one came back to me after her appointment.
6. There were no children booked for appointments in this time period.
7. Two patients commented on difficulties with parking, but recognised that this was beyond the control of the Practice. They also expressed the view that this may become more difficult with the introduction of payment for parking.
5.Recommendations
1. Further Waiting Room Surveys should be undertaken (no more than six monthly) on different days and at different times to cover the spread of activity. Each survey should take a different focus.
2. One Survey should look at access for those working and, maybe, take place at a late surgery.
6.My Comments
1. I had expected to talk with more patients in the two hour period but many wanted to talk at some length about their experience, making comparisons between their experience and those of their family and friends at other surgeries. There are also “waves” within the waiting area, at times I had spoken with all who were waiting then a rush of people would arrive and often had been called in before I was free to speak with them.
2. I feel this is a useful process as it elicits appropriate information, helps to inform patients about the role of the Patient Forum and encourages patients to comment on the Practice.
3. It was helpful to have the pro-forma to complete both to aid recording and to enable patients to clearly see the questions and ensure the same questions were asked of all. It was easy to turn over a completed questionnaire before moving on to the next patient.
Margaret Johnson
Patient Forum Member
21st February 2012
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