May 30 2012
Commenting on the publication of the 'Patient Experience Survey of GP and Local NHS Services 2011/12' results, Dr Dean Marshall, Chair of BMA Scotland’s General Practice Committee said:
“General Practice is very much the cornerstone of the NHS in Scotland and these results are a testament to the hard work of GPs and their practice teams. We are pleased that 89 per cent of patients rated their overall experience of care by the GP surgery as good or excellent; we must ensure that our standards do not slip. For the 11 per cent who did not, we must consider how we can improve.”
The survey found that 91% of patients responded positively to having enough time with doctors, an increase on previously recorded figures. There has however been a decrease on those who found arrangements for getting to see their doctor as good or excellent. Dr Marshall went on to comment:
“GPs strive to meet the demand for all patients to be seen as quickly as possible but what’s important is that the patient is seen in a timely manner according to their clinical need. With an increase in complex care needs, a rise in demand for GP appointments, and the shift of work to general practice from hospitals, practices have to balance the number of appointments available in advance and for urgent cases on the day. This means that some patients find it difficult to book a routine appointment with their GP in advance at a time to suit them.
“There may be a number of reasons why individual practices are struggling to maintain access; in particular many practices would benefit from additional GP time and resource to meet this rising demand.”