Hathaway Medical Centre

Number of Responses: 259

A survey of our Patient Reference Group identified a gap between how important patients feel it is to be able to make appointments at a convenient time with an appropriately qualified clinician and their experience of arranging an appointment. As a result of this we decided to survey our patients about the days and times that would best suit them for different types of appointments.

The survey is totally anonymous. By completing this questionnaire you will help us to review how we support our patients and how we might improve their experience.

This survey is split into several sections, not all sections will be appropriate for you to answer so please ignore sections that do not relate to you. The questionnaire should take no more than 10 minutes to complete amd there is a section at the end for your comments.

Your background

Your age:

Under 16  0%

16-25  2%

26-45  26%

46-65  48%

66-75  16%

Over 75  5%

I'd prefer not to say  0%

Male or Female

Female  55%

Male  43%

I'd prefer not to say  0%

Are you currently in a job?

Yes  56%

No  41%

I'd prefer not to say  1%

No response  2%

Are you a carer?

Yes  9%

No  86%

I'd prefer not to say  1%

No response  4%

Are you disabled?

Yes  7%

No  89%

I'd prefer not to say  1%

No response  3%

Should our branch surgery remain open?

Yes - remain open  59%

No - it should be shuut  13%

It should be further developed to offer a wider range of services  20%

No response  8%

In the last 6 months how many times have you attended the surgery?

1  29%

2  20%

3  11%

4  13%

5  1%

6  5%

More than 6  14%

No response  7%

Section 1 - Routine GP Appointments - For You

Are you generally satisfied with the appointment system and the speed at which you can arrange a routine appointment to see a GP?

Yes  46%

No  50%

No response  4%

For an appointment to see a GP for a new non-urgent problem how many days do you feel it is acceptable to wait to see the doctor of your choice?

Next day  7%

2 days  22%

3 days  20%

4 days  13%

5 days  14%

7 days  16%

10 days  2%

14 days  1%

More than 14 days  0%

No response  5%

In your experience, how long do you wait to make an appointment with the GP of your choice?

Next day  3%

2 days  5%

3 days  10%

4 days  5%

5 days  11%

7 days  26%

10 days  13%

14 days  6%

More than 14 days  7%

No response  14%

To make a routine follow-up appointment to see the doctor, how far in advance would you like to be able to book this?

Next day  6%

2 days  3%

3 days  3%

4 days  1%

5 days  5%

7 days  18%

10 days  8%

2weeks  16%

2-4weeks  19%

More than 4 weeks  15%

No response  6%

For a routine appointment to see a GP what day(s) of the week suit you best? You can select as many day as you like.

What time of the day suit you best?. You can select as many time periods as you like.

If your GP held a Saturday morning surgery for pre-booked routine doctor appointments once a month, would you use it in preference to appointments at a convenient time during the week?

Yes  46%

No  52%

No response  2%

Do you generally manage to see the GP of your choice?

Mostly  44%

Occassionally  23%

Rarely  22%

Never  4%

No response  7%

Which GP do you prefer to see?

Dr Wright  11%

Dr Brosch  11%

Dr Turek  6%

Dr Harper  7%

Dr Goedbloed  15%

Dr Osmond  8%

Dr Jennings  7%

Dr Jeffery  7%

Dr Grimmer  0%

I don't know their name  4%

Other (please use comment box)  8%

No response  16%

Section 2 - PARENTS: Routine GP Appointments - For Your Children (under 16 years)

Are you generally satisfied with our appointment system and the speed at which you can see a doctor for a routine appointment for your child/children?

Yes  16%

No  8%

No response  76%

For an appointment for your child to see a GP for a new non-urgent problem how many days do you feel it is acceptable to wait to see the doctor of your choice?

Next day  4%

2 days  6%

3 days  4%

4 days  2%

5 days  2%

7 days  2%

10 days  0%

14 days  0%

More than 14 days  0%

No response  80%

In your experience, how long do you wait to make an appointment with the GP of your choice?

Next day  3%

2 days  1%

3 days  1%

4 days  1%

5 days  2%

7 days  6%

10 days  2%

14 days  0%

More than 14 days  1%

No response  83%

To make a routine follow-up appointment to see the doctor, how far in advance would you like to be able to book this?

Next day  2%

2 days  0%

3 days  0%

4 days  0%

5 days  1%

7 days  5%

10 days  1%

2weeks  4%

2-4weeks  6%

More than 4 weeks  2%

No response  79%

For a routine appointment for your child to see a GP which day(s) of the week suit you best? You can select as many day as you like.

What time of the day suits you best. You can select as many time periods as you like.

If your GP held a Saturday morning surgery for pre-booked routine doctor appointments once a month, would you use it in preference to appointments as a convenient time during the week?

Yes  17%

No  6%

No response  77%

Section 3 - CARERS: Routine GP Appointments - For Someone You Care For

For an appointment to bring someone you care for to see a GP for a new non-urgent problem how many days do you feel it is acceptable to wait to see the doctor of your choice?

Next day  1%

2 days  1%

3 days  1%

4 days  0%

5 days  1%

7 days  1%

10 days  0%

14 days  0%

More than 14 days  0%

No response  95%

To make a routine follow-up appointment to see the doctor, how far in advance would you like to be able to book this?

Next day  0%

2 days  0%

3 days  0%

4 days  0%

5 days  0%

7 days  1%

10 days  0%

2weeks  1%

2-4weeks  2%

More than 4 weeks  1%

No response  95%

For a routine appointment to bring someone you care for to see a GP which day(s) of the week suit you best? You can select as many days as you like.

What time of the day suits you best. You can select as many time periods as you like.

If your GP held a Saturday morning surgery for pre-booked routine doctor appointments once a month, would you use it in preference to appointments at a convenient time during the week?

Yes  3%

No  5%

No response  92%

Section 4 - Continuity

How important is it for you to see the same doctor or nurse on each visit?

Very Important  38%

Important  27%

Desirable  24%

Not very important  4%

Of no importance  1%

Don't know  0%

No response  6%

Section 5 - Urgent Appointments

Are you aware that our urgent appointments are managed by the nurse team, lead by Nurse Practitioners supported by an on-call doctor who is always available to see a patient if there is a clinical need?

Yes  70%

No  27%

No response  3%

What is your understanding of the level to which nurse practitioners are trained?

Ordinary Registered Nureses  8%

Nurses with some specialist training  38%

Nurses with advanced training and skills allowing them to work at a level similar to a GP for urgent care  43%

Nurse with training that works at the same level as a GP  3%

Nurse that works at a higher level than a GP  0%

No response  8%

When a patient asks for an urgent appointments the trained admin staff ask 4 questions so that the clinical staff know what the problem is and also to help identify patients with very urgent problems where an ambulance or fast response may be more appropriate:

• Can you tell me what the problem is/the symptoms are?
• How long have you had this?
• Have you taken anthing for it?
• Have you seen anyone about this condition before?

Confidentiality is assured and patients can decline to answer these questions.

Do you think it is acceptable to be asked these questions?

Yes  76%

No  20%

No response  4%

Have you ever been seen by a nurse practitioner?

Yes  79%

No  16%

No response  5%

If you have seen a nurse practitioner, please think about the last time you saw one, how satisfied were you with their advice/treatment?

Extremely Satisfied  33%

Generally Satisfied  41%

Disatisfied  3%

Extremely disatisfied  0%

No response  23%

Did you feel the need to check what you had been told by making a doctors' appointment on another day?

Yes  6%

No  72%

No response  22%

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Section 6 - Minor Illness

There is an increasing demand upon us from patients suffering with a self-limiting minor illness that does not require medical treatment and will generally respond to medicines abd advice available from a pharmacist. Sometimes these illnesses may be unpleasant (Flu) but respond better to TLC (tender loving care) than antibiotics. This demand reduces our ability to respond to patients who will benefit from see a clinician.

Do you think it is reasonable for the practice to encourage patients with a minor illness to medicate themselves or seek advice from a pharmacist before asking to be seen by a doctor or nurse?

Yes  79%

No  16%

No response  5%

How quickly do you expect to be seen for a minor illness?

Within 2 hours  0%

Within 4 hours  0%

Same day as contacting the surgery  13%

Next day  22%

2-3 days  22%

Within a week  18%

Not at all  17%

No response  8%

Section 7 - Routine nurse-led health care

This includes womens' health (smears, contraception etc); health screening; adult/travel vaccinations and planned dressings.

For a routine appointments to see a nurse how many days do you feel it is acceptable to wait to see an appropriately trained nurse?

Next day  6%

2 days  17%

3 days  13%

4 days  8%

5 days  13%

7 days  24%

10 days  4%

14 days  6%

More than 14 days  1%

No response  8%

To make a routine follow-up appointment to see a nurse, how far in advance would you like to be able to book an appointment?

Next day  5%

2 days  2%

3 days  3%

4 days  0%

5 days  6%

7 days  20%

10 days  8%

2weeks  14%

2-4weeks  19%

More than 4 weeks  13%

No response  10%

For a routine appointment to see a nurse, which day(s) of the week suits you best? You can select as many day as you like.

What time of the day suits you best. You can select as many time periods as you like.

Section 8 - For patients with Long Term Conditions

Long term conditions include conditions such as asthma, diabetes, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), Chronic Kidney Disease; Hypertension, Heart Disease, Epilepsy

Do you suffer from:any of the following?

Asthma  15%

Diabetes  11%

COPD  1%

Chronic Kidney Disease  0%

Hypertension  21%

Heart Disease  4%

Epilepsy  1%

None of these (please go to next section)  25%

No response  22%

Clinics for long term conditions are generally run by nurses with specialist training supported by a lead GP.

Do you know that we use your month of birth as the anniversary date to review your condition(s) and that we ask patients to contact us to make an appointment during their month of birth rather than the practice inviting patients in?

Yes  42%

No  22%

No response  36%

How far in advance would you like to be able to book an appointment in the clinic?

Within one week  13%

1-2 weeks  18%

2-4 weeks  19%

More than 4 weeks  10%

Other (please use comment box)  0%

No response  40%

If you would like to, please feel free to give us any positive or negative feedback on how well we meet your needs.