Here is how Portsmouth GP surgeries reacted to being the best and worst in the region
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The GP Patient Survey, which is carried out every year, saw more than two million people from across the UK give their thoughts on their local practice, scoring them on issues such as waiting times and ease of access.
It has shown the best and the worst of GP surgeries in the area, with many receiving scores of more than 80 per cent for overall patient satisfaction.
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Hide AdHowever, some surgeries have shown significantly poorer results, highlighting long-term problems that are yet to be addressed.
The GP Patient Survey is administered by Ipsos Mori on behalf of NHS England, giving patients the chance to give feedback about their local GP practice.
In Portsmouth, the best performing practice was The University Surgery in St Michael’s Road, in the city centre.
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Hide AdA total of 92 per cent said it was easy to get through to the practice over the phone, with 100 per cent of patients saying they had confidence and trust in their GP.
Dr Dapo Alalade, a GP and the senior partner at the surgery, said: ‘We are continually planning to provide the best services possible, especially during this particularly challenging time for primary care and the NHS in general – so we are extremely pleased to receive such positive feedback from our patients.
‘We are particularly grateful to receive the feedback that our receptionists are so helpful, as they have worked hard at care navigation getting the patients seen by the right professional at the right time with the right qualifications to meet the patients’ needs.
‘We are also delighted that patients feel that they have been treated with care and concern during their appointment.’
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Hide AdOne of the other best performing surgeries in the region was Wickham Surgery in Houghton Way, Wickham.
According to the survey, 90 per cent of patients wait 15 minutes or less after arriving for their appointment, with 96 per cent of patients rating their overall experience as good.
Managing partner Ed Kennedy said: ‘Wickham Surgery is extremely proud to have been rated so highly by our patients.
‘It’s been a really difficult year for the NHS. Our clinicians and non-clinical colleagues have continued to come into work throughout the entirety of the pandemic.
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Hide Ad‘The incredible feedback from our patients makes us feel valued and validates all of our efforts.
‘We have a great primary care team and believe that the GP and patient relationship is crucial – this is why we have worked hard to maintain the traditional model where a patient has their own named GP.
‘We still feel we have room for improvement and we are working closely with our patient participation group who are helping us shape our services around our patient needs.’
One area where many GP surgeries have struggled is with patients trying to get through to them over the phone.
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Hide AdFrom the 36 surgeries in the surrounding area, 16 were below the national average for patients getting through by calling.
The lowest performing practice in the region was The Willow Group, which runs five sites in Gosport, with just 15 per cent of those surveyed saying they could get through to their surgery.
The group also scored the lowest in the region for overall patient experience.
Dr Robin Harlow, clinical director and GP partner for The Willow Group, said the survey is a small sample size of their patients.
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Hide AdHe said: ‘We were really disappointed to read the latest results of the GP Patient Survey with regards to patients’ experience of contacting us on the phone, especially as we received almost 24,000 calls in the first quarter of the year from our patients.
‘The number of responses to the survey equates to just 0.24 per cent of our patient list of over 35,000 patients.
‘Whilst this is a small minority we would still like to apologise to anyone who had difficulty contacting us and assure them that we will be reviewing our systems to see if we can improve them further.’
Other issues being highlighted by patients included appointment times and access to appointments – both of which have also been hindered by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Hide AdFor Portsmouth CCG, the average satisfaction with the appointments available was 56 per cent, seven per cent lower than the national average.
Dr Tom Bertram, a Titchfield GP who is the primary care lead for NHS Fareham and Gosport and South Eastern Hampshire CCGs, said: ‘We have to be careful about surveys which have a reasonably low response rate, especially as the survey was still open as the country went into Covid-19 lockdown. But the results do give practices a useful guide about their perceived performances.
‘There are areas and services that we would like to improve on such as patient satisfaction with appointment times and we are working closely with practices to address these issues, such as improving access to appointments through a range of new technologies.
‘It is worth highlighting that our practices were already under huge pressure before the Covid-19 lockdown – and every one of them has responded magnificently to the massive challenges facing them during the pandemic, often working collaboratively with each other for the benefit of their patients.’
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Hide AdCouncillor Matthew Winnington, Portsmouth City Council’s executive member for health, said: ‘At the moment, how things are going to work post-coronavirus is up in the air.
‘This survey will feed into a lot of the work that GP surgeries will be doing going forward, because there are always lessons to be learned.
‘But I am really pleased that the practices in our city have performed so well.’
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