NRMC ACCESS QUESTIONNAIRE 2014 V.2

NANTGARW ROAD MEDICAL CENTRE ACCESS QUESTIONNAIRE SEPTEMBER 2014

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Patients attending Nantgarw road medical centre / Senghenydd health centre were asked their views on our appointment system and access during September 2014

246 Patients completed a questionnaire ;-

189 Patients using Nantgarw road Medical centre 56 Patients using Senghenydd health centre 1 Patient completed postal questionnaire (Online)

Making appointments

233 out of 246 Patients found our receptionists ‘very helpful’ (180), or ‘Fairly helpful’ (53). Only a small proportion of patients had experience of our receptionist being ‘not very helpful’ (7), or ‘ not at all helpful ‘ (1 patient).

The majority of people normally booked appointments via phone (51.7%), or in person (38.10%). Online bookings accounted for 5% of responses.

When asked how they would prefer to book appointments, 16.30% of patient stated they would use the online service (an 11.30% increase on the ‘normal’ booking method), and 27.80% patients would prefer to book in person (an 10.30% decrease on normal booking method).

IN PERSON 27.80% TELEPHONE 51.60% ONLINE 16.30%

General access/opening hours

Patients were asked ‘is your GP practice currently open at times that are convenient? (Q15)

85.20% of responses stated that opening times are convenient 12.11% of responses stated that opening times were not convenient 2.69% of responses stated ‘don’t know’

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Reasons for the opening times being not convenient;-

Difficult to get time off work (14) Not enough pre-booked appointments available (12) Not open at the time I’m free (6) Difficult to attend as I have dependants (2)

Preference of when seen -

54% of patients had no preference of when they were seen 30% of patients preferred AM appointments 16% of patients preferred PM appointments

67.30% of patients did not have a preference of day they would like to be seen.

Responses for patients wanting ‘specific’ days of week:-

MONDAY 17 THURSDAY 16 FRIDAY 16 TUESDAY 14 WEDNESDAY 9

Same day access

83.40% of Senghenydd patients and 81.5% of NRMC patients indicated that if they need a GP urgently they could be seen on the same day. This result was expected as both practices offer a walk in open surgery AM surgery daily, and have capacity for dealing with afternoon ‘extras’ via the on call GP.

Telephone access

216 out of 246 patients felt that getting through on the telephone was ‘very easy’ (100), or ‘Fairly Easy’ (116). Other responses:- Haven’t tried (11) , – ‘Not very easy’ (7) ‘Not at all easy’ (4).

This overwhelmingly suggests our telephone systems are fit for purpose, telephone capacity and staffing levels on telephones is sufficient.

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The questionnaire asked ‘how easy is it to speak to the GP/nurse’? (Q3)

80 70 60 50 40 30 Series1 20 10 0 Havent Not very Fairly Not at all Very tried easy easy easy easy

43.7% of responders stated that they haven’t tried to speak to the GP/Nurse.

Of the 102 responders that had spoken to GP/Nurse 62.74% stated that it was ‘not very easy’ or ‘not at all easy’.

37.26% of responders stated that it was either ‘very easy’ or ‘fairly easy’ to speak to a GP/nurse.

The practice does have a system for offering telephone consultations, where the matter can be practically dealt with over the phone. The receptionists should take basic details, contact details and the GP rings patient after finish of surgery.

Some comments relate to this:-

“Sometimes I Just want to ask a question which can be done on the phone”

“ Whenever I have called with a problem the surgery has always been great with seeing or speaking to a GP. Thank you”

However when asked ‘how would you rather consult with a GP’ only 6% of responders (14) replied that the would rather consultation by telephone – The vast majority preferring a face to face consultation.

There are times were a quick discussion by telephone may save an appointment slot being used (therefore improving access for face to face appointments). It is unclear whether the 43.7% of patients who haven’t tried to speak to GP/Nurse are aware of this as an option.

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It is also evident that the majority of patients who did get to speak to the GP found it difficult to arrange.

Booking ahead for appointments

80% of responders indicated that it was important to be able to book ahead for their appointment.

The surgery has a mixed system of pre-booked appointments and same day ‘open’ surgeries for new medical complaints, or matters that cannot wait until the next available appointment.

Pre-booked appointments are opened between 2 days and 90 days in advance.

Patients were asked ‘How easy is it to book ahead?’ (Q6)

100

80

60

40 Series1 20

0 Fairly Very Not Not at easy easy very all easy easy

73.18% of patients who responded indicated it was ‘fairly easy’ or ‘very easy’ to book ahead, and 26.82% responded that it was ‘not very easy’ or ‘not at all easy’

Continuity of care

Patients were asked ‘Is there a particular GP you prefer to see?’

65.32% of responders indicated YES

There was a mixed responses on ‘how often do you see or speak to the GP you prefer? 49.27% stating ‘always/almost always’ or ‘a lot of the time’ , 44.12% of patients stating ‘some of the time’ , only 6.61% of responders however stated ‘never or almost never’

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60 50 40 30 Series1 20 10 0 A lot of the time Always/almost Some of the Never / Almost always time never

Length of wait for pre-booked appointments

Patients were asked how long they had to wait to be seen with ‘ANY’ GP, and how long they had to wait for specific GP.

How quickly do you get seen (any GP)? (Q11)

80 70 60 50 40 Series1 30 20 10 0 Same 2-4 Days 5 Days or day/next more

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How quickly do you get seen (particular GP)? (Q9)

150

100 Series1 50

0 Same day/next 2-4 Days 5 Days or more

This demonstrates that there can be more of a wait when patients wish to wait for an appointment for a specific GP. However 65.43% of patients pre- booking with ANY GP were able to see a GP within 4 days, and 43.02% were offered an appointment same day/next day.

How do you rate how quickly you were seen? (Q10)

52.5% Responders indicated that the wait was ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory’ 31% Responded that the wait was ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ 16.5% Responded that the wait was ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’

Wait in surgery

Of the cohort questioned – 51.33% of patients were attending for the walk in/open surgery , 45.13% of patients had a pre-booked appointment, and 3.54% of patients were unsure what type of appointment they were booked for.

Patients with Pre-booked appointments – Wait

30 25 20 15 10 Series1 5 0 5-10 11-20 21-30 30+ less min min min mins than 5 mins

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Patient satisfaction pre-booked appointment wait

48.45% of patients felt their wait was ‘satisfactory’ or ‘good’ 29.90% of patients felt their wait was ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ 21.65% of patients felt their wait was ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’

Patients attending Walk in (open) same day surgery – Wait

60 50 40 30 20 Series1 10 0 No exact More 11-20 m 21-30m 5-10 m under 5 time 30m minutes given

Patient satisfaction Walk in (open) appointment wait

62.27% of patients felt their wait was ‘satisfactory’ or ‘good’ 23.58% of patients felt their wait was ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ 14.15% of patients felt their wait was ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’

Analysing the satisfaction ratings - slightly higher percentages of patients Felt their wait ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ if seeing the GP in walk in surgery (23.58% in comparison with 21.65% pre-booked) .

The surgery does not triage or cap open surgery, and it is the choice of the patient whether or not they need to come into open surgery, or wait for the next bookable appointment. The advantage is that patients can be seen quicker.

As there is no maximums, and the surgery operates on a ‘first come, first served’ basis with an estimated appointment time, we expected waiting times to be longer than with a pre-booked appointment.

Patients arriving between 9-11am who have an estimated wait of over an hour will be offered the option of sitting and waiting or coming back at a specific time.

Patients presenting before 9am will be asked to wait in surgery (unless wait is extremely long). All GPs working call patients from a ‘open list’, and we have at least one dedicated GP seeing ‘walk in’ appointments. The advantage is that any GP with a Gap can call patients in walk in sooner than if walk in surgery limited to 1-2 GPs, thus reducing wait.

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Preferred method of consultation

Asked how they preferred to consult with a GP, responders indicated the following;-

85 % preferred Face to Face consultations 6% preferred telephone consultation 5% preferred electronic media (e-mail/internet/text message) 4% Had no preference

Understanding of how the appointments system worked

The questionnaire asked if patients understood how the appointment system worked (via information given on information screen/website)

61.20% percent of patients stated ‘YES’ 38.80% percent of patients stated ‘NO’

This indicates that further work may be required so patients have a better understanding of how appointments are allocated.

Patient Participation group

15% of patients indicated they would consider participating in a ‘patient group’ with the practice , in order to help make changes.

A further 5% would consider involvement , but mostly were restricted because of other commitments.

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General Comments and Suggestions

Facilities

“For people who have low vision it would be helpful if TV audio system could be used to announce pt name and consultation room number”

“Want vending machine, water cooler, sound from TV”

“Water fountain would benefit. Waiting area too small”

“Could use telly in surgery as theres nothing to do as your waiting and sometimes you can be waiting for up to 2hrs (SENGHENYDD H/C)”

“I Think you should have more in the play area as kids get restless, and bored as there aint much to do because of long waiting time”

“The medical centre is very clean and gives a good impression as you walk in”

“The surgery is a beautiful, clean building, best I have seen in years”

“Lovely surgery - great to have a car park attached and chemist”

Resources “Have a nurse or someone to see instead of doctor if you want to ask questions about condition or whether or not you need to see GP”

“Take on more doctors as surgery has got bigger”

“[Would like more] afternoon appointments with female doctor”

“Increase length of walk in surgery to reduce 'backlog'”

“Should be able to choose which practice we attend if an earlier appointment can be given”

Other comments

Service is excellent

Overall the way the practice is run is excellent , and I am well aware that no one (appt) system can suit all patients

I'm glad I changed my doctors to you. So much better service. Thank you. 5 Stars

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All nurses are fantastic , never a complaint about them. Attentive and efficient

Demographics

141 females, 77 males, 28 no responses.

AGE BAND <16 3 16-44 86 45-64 89 65-74 33 75+ 10 No response 25 246

Do you have a long standing health condition? Yes (1) 115 No (2) 89 No response/cant say 42 TOTAL 246

How many times have you seen a GP/nurse in last year?

1-2 (1) 52 3 or more (2) 145 Don’t know /can't say (3) 12 Non responders 37 246

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