Survey finds people in Portsmouth area are happy with GP experience

Eighty-six per cent of people in the Portsmouth Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area rated their GP as good, with only five per cent describing their experiences as poor.

South East Hampshire CCG saw the highest figure in the area, with 88 per cent of patients giving a rating of good. It also had the lowest poor rating in the area with four per cent.

Fareham and Gosport CCG saw 81 per cent of patients rate their GP practice as good, four per cent below the national average.

They were also higher than the national average of five per cent, for giving a rating of poor at four per cent.

The data in the GP Patient Survey showed nearly all respondents in the three CCG areas, 94 per cent for Portsmouth; 95 per cent for Fareham and Gosport and 96 per cent for South East Hampshire, had ‘confidence and trust’ in the doctor or nurse they saw.

Jacqueline Powell, the ‘people champion’ lay member on the Portsmouth CCG governing board, said: ‘People appreciate and recognise the terrific strain on primary care services at present. So for our GP practices to return such consistently high levels of satisfaction as this is truly impressive.

‘The CCG is always striving to improve performance and services for our patients.’

GP practices in the South East Hampshire CCG area consistently scored higher than the national average. Fareham and Gosport CCG was just below the national average or in line with it.

Dr David Chilvers, the clinical lead for Fareham and Gosport CCG, added: ‘Improving access to GP services is top priority for us and much work has been done since the first wave of this survey.

‘That includes the opening of the same-day access hub at Gosport War Memorial Hospital, which has dramatically improved access for patients at four of the town’s 11 GP practices. I suspect the survey would attract very different results if it was undertaken in Gosport now.’