Frustration over advance GP appointments
- Published: 01 May 2008 09:00
- Author: Sally Gainsbury
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- Last Updated: 01 May 2008 11:22
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Nearly three quarters of England's GP practices have left at least one in 10 patients dissatisfied because of the difficulties of making appointments more than two days in advance.
The figures - gathered as part of the 2006-07 GP patient survey - were placed in the House of Commons library on Tuesday. The individual results have been published before but these figures show GPs' performance against patient satisfaction targets through which they can earn extra financial rewards.
The satisfaction target on advance booking proved hardest for GPs to meet. The second hardest target was for patients wanting to book appointments within two days. On that score, 59 per cent of practices had dissatisfied at least one in 10 patients.
Practices performed better on targets attached to telephone access and choice of practitioner, with just 23 per cent and 17 per cent respectively leaving at least one in five patients dissatisfied.
The highest rates of patient dissatisfaction with GPs were recorded at inner city primary care trusts such as Newham, Heart of Birmingham and Tower Hamlets.
