Each year, the NHS gathers feedback from patients on their experience with their local GP practice. The invitations for this year have just gone out and you may have received one.
Why have I received an invitation?
It’s completely random, and it’s also anonymous. The practice will never know it was you who filled out a form.
The NHS has an obligation to understand how it is performing, and whether we are meeting your needs. The current hot topic is “access and demand” – which basically means how easy is it to get an appointment with us.
Why should I do it?
It’s so important to make your voice heard. We know we are not perfect, and we are actively working on changes to improve things – we have installed the new telephony, and AskMyGP will have extended opening hours from the 23rd January. It’s really important that we know if these changes are helping, or if we need to improve further
I’m not sure I can be bothered to do it
I hear you! One of the things that often happens is that only people with a strong opinion fill in the survey, and this often skews the results. We would be grateful if you could find time to fill it in, whether you think we’re good, bad or just average.
What happens to the results?
As a practice we receive a summary of the results later in the year. As Practice Manager, it’s then my job to look at them, and understand how we improve. Ways I do this include -
· The Patient Participation Group – click HERE if you would like to join
· Asking for feedback on Facebook
· We will shortly be introducing surveys after your appointment to check on your experience
· Stats – I look every day at how many calls we answer, what our capacity is and how we can improve – sometimes the answer is in these numbers
· I am always open to feedback and many patients write to me or pass me feedback via reception or via Facebook
· Seeking and sharing best practice with our local surgeries – if their results are better, what are they doing that we perhaps are not, and would it work for us?
I will never ever know which patients participated or who was asked to participate and didn’t.
If you would like more information, the official NHS page is here. I would just add that for me, and everybody at the practice, your feedback is always invaluable and we can only fix the problems we are aware of. Equally, if things are starting to improve, it would be great to know we are on the right track.
Thank you
Debbie