SWADLINCOTE SURGERY APPOINTMENTS QUESTIONNAIRE 2012

Over the past months we have received a number of comments about our appointment system and, although we have made some changes to it, we felt that it was important to get the views of our patients both on how they would like sessions to be timed and what additional services they would like outside normal working hours.

We initially discussed our perception of the problems with the appointment system as a practice and suggested alternative surgery times, both within and without the normal working day and also the possibility of providing other services during our extended hours sessions.

We were also keen to know how far in advance patients preferred to book their appointments.

These suggestions were then discussed at length by our PPG who made appropriate amendments to the questionnaire before it was presented to patients.

We are grateful to those patients who completed our questionnaire and would assure them that their answers and comments have been taken on board as we show in our action plan.

We received some very positive comments from our patients and these are very much appreciated, particularly as we have experienced some disruption during our recent building works.

Please look at the results of our survey, together with our action plan.

SURVEY RESULTS

1.Appointment Times

At the moment, we run doctor's surgeries from 8.30-12.00 in the morning, then 3.40-6.30pm during the afternoon. Outside “normal” working hours, we currently have doctor's appointments between 8.30-11.30am on Saturday mornings, and evening surgeries from 6.30 to 8.30pm on alternate Mondays and Thursdays. Nursing appointments are available throughout the day on Mondays and Fridays, until 6.00pm.

We are thinking about whether to change our opening times outside of normal working hours.

From the following appointment times, which would you prefer?

  • Early morning (7:00 - 8:30am) [ 28% ]
  • Mid day (12:00 - 2:00pm) [39% ]
  • Evening (6:30 - 8:00pm) [21% ]
  • Saturday morning (8:30 - 11:00am)[16% ]
  • Any other time?No comments

2.Services outside working hours

At the moment, outside normal working hours (ie 8.00am to 6.30pm) we only offer GP appointments. Are there any other services you would find useful outside these times?

  • Appointments with the nurse[ 45% ]
  • Annual health checks[ 19% ]
  • Medication reviews[18%]
  • Blood tests[ 23% ]
  • Smears[ 15% ]
  • Vaccinations[16% ]
  • Any other services? No comments

3.Appointment System

We are constantly reviewing our appointment system. At the moment, about half of our appointments can usually be booked in advance, and the remainder are available on the day. The duty doctor is always available for urgent problems that can't wait.

How far in advance do you prefer to book your appointments for routine matters?

  • More than a week[19% ]
  • 48 hours - 1 week[ 40% ]
  • 24 hours - 48 hours[ 19% ]
  • On the day[ 09% ]
  • Any other time?No comments

4.Contacting the doctor

We are looking at other ways of making it easier for you to contact your doctor. For questions or problems that don't need to be seen face to face, would you be comfortable using either of the following methods of contact to avoid having to make a trip to the surgery?

  • Telephone[ 66% ]
  • Email[ 8% ]
  • OtherNo comment

5.Comments or Suggestions

Do you have any other comments or suggestions about how we can improve the appointment system?

  • Appointment system works very well at present
  • No, you always provide a very good service
  • No, systems have improved
  • No, very good (x2)
  • I am very satisfied with the service
  • Jayex board as I cannot hear
  • Child immunizations earlier in the day
  • Most appointment times are suitable
  • External letter box
  • Appointment lines often busy
  • Continuity of care
  • More flexible nurse appointments

ACTION PLAN

  • General

To further discuss the survey results at the PRP meeting on 17th April 2012

To continue to encourage patients to join our ‘virtual’ group

To take up the kind offer of PPG members to talk to other patients in surgery about our surveys and assist them in the completion of these where appropriate

To ensure that all changes within the practice are communicated fully to our patients

  • Appointment Times

We will look to implement mid day surgeries, initially once or twice weekly following the Easter break

To look at the possibility of early morning surgeries

To reconsider Saturday morning extended hours

  • Nurse Appointments

We currently have nurse appointments available during most of the working day but we will look at the possibility of having appointments throughout the lunch period

We will look at the possibility of having nurse cover during extended hours. Initial discussions with our Nurse Practitioner show that the nursing team would support this subject to contractual arrangements.

We will consider and discuss the services which can be offered by nurses during these times. It may not be appropriate for some services to be carried out at all times.

  • Timescale for booking appointments

We have increased our pre-bookable appointments and now have approximately 50% pre-bookable and 50% book on day appointments. As so few of our patients who completed the survey preferred booking on the day we will look to change our appointment pattern to fit in with our patients’ wishes

  • Alternative appointments

We already have telephone slots for our GPs. As these seem to be very popular with our patients we will discuss extending this facility.

We are not sure about e-mail contact – there are many things to be considered, with confidentiality being the most important.

  • Other comments

Most of the additional comments we received were positive and we were pleased with this.

  • Jayex Board

This has now been installed and is popular with our patients

  • External letterbox

This was removed during our building works and will be replaced shortly

  • Continuity of Care

We encourage our patients to see their usual doctor wherever possible

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