NSH Patient Survey Brief

BACK TO MAIN INDEX

The following highlight report contains the responses and supporting narrative from our patient survey, ran 11th – 25th July 2022.

A total of 202 responses were received and will be used to shape our delivery of the Network Standard Hours (NSH), Direct Enhanced Service. You will have heard this referred to as the Enhanced Access service. We had representation from all ten practices in Weald Primary Care Network.

This survey was built and published with support from Weald PCN’s Patient Participation Group, a thank you to them from the practice and PCN teams.

 

Have you visited your GP in the last six months?

92% of those responding to the survey had visited their GP practice within the prior six months.

 

Compared to appointments offered on weekdays from 9am-5pm, how likely would you be to book a routine appoimtment during the following hours?

Key notes linked to the above table and in reference to our current Network Standard Hours plan

• Saturday afternoons will be covered by a General Practitioner who will conduct telephone appointments, supported by two hub locations with the ability to see patients face to face when necessary.
• Saturday mornings will be covered by a minimum of one General Practitioner, delivering a mix of face to face and telephone appointments. This will be located at Staplehurst with the occasional clinic held at  alternative GP premises in Weald PCN.
• Weekdays 5-6.30pm will see the addition of c5.5 hours added to current practice delivered clinics.
• Weekdays 8-9am. 2.5 hours will be provided before 9am Mon-Friday.
• Weekdays before 8am, 7.5 hours will be provided Mon-Fri.
• Weekday appointments between 6.30-8pm will be covered by a General Practitioner who will conduct telephone appointments, supported by two hub locations with the ability to see patients face to face when necessary.

 

When using the Enhanced Access service, which of the below appointment types would you use?

Key notes linked to the above table and in reference to our current Network Standard Hours plan

• All our clinicians are trained and seeing patients face to face, the number of which will continue to increase month on month.
  • As reporting data becomes more available and accurate, we commit to making the information available to our patients. This may include all appointment types by percentage and will also enable to identify appointments not attended (DNA is the internal coding for this).
• With 42% of patient’s responses identifying video consultations as appropriate, Weald PCN and its member practices commit to exploring how and when we can utilise this method of consultation. This method currently accounts for <5% of our planned NSH hours.

 

Were you satisfied with the availability time of an appointment?

Key notes linked to the above table and in reference to our current Network Standard Hours plan

Whilst 79% of responses indicated being satisfied with the time and availability of an appointment offered, one in four patients (21%) have supported our view that the review for NSH is welcome and needed.

 

If attending a face-to-face appointment through the Enhanced Access service, how would you get there?

Key notes linked to the above table and in reference to our current Network Standard Hours plan

The above is reassuring with 77% of responder’s able to drive. We are aware of transport challenges in Weald and have appointed a general practitioner as our Health Inequalities Lead to help identify, understand and reduce inequalities across our patient population.

 

Would you be prepared to travel to a practice that isn't your own for treatment outside working hours if it meant you could be seen sooner - and if so, when?

Key notes linked to the above table and in reference to our current Network Standard Hours plan

38% of responders would choose to wait until they are able to be seen at their own practice. We are happy to reassure all patients that more than 80% of our planned NSH will be carried out at your own surgery.

 

In your opinion, which appointments do you think would be the most valuable offered as part of the Enhanced Access Service?

Key notes linked to the above table and in reference to our current Network Standard Hours plan

Thank you to our responders, this is invaluable information and will form a critical part our service reviews as a PCN. We will ensure a balance is maintained across the type of appointments offered, potentially, using NSH or Core Hours (Mon-Fri 8.30 -18.30) to provide capacity for more routine appointments to be made available.

 

If it were relevant to your health and available in your area, would you be interested in attending specialist clinics set up for a group of patients with a similar condition?

Key notes linked to the above table and in reference to our current Network Standard Hours plan

• The above chart shows that approximately two thirds of patients would consider attending group sessions/clinics that are relevant to their health needs.
• Weald PCN commits to exploring the options for this further and implementing some group clinic sessions in the next twelve months.

 

Which of these roles have you heard of and/or interacted with in your local area?

Key notes linked to the above table and in reference to our current Network Standard Hours plan

The above shows that patients in Weald are aware of the wider health teams available, at the time of this report, Weald PCN have not yet recruited the following roles but will include them in their work force planning moving forward; Advanced Clinical Practitioner, Mental Health Practitioner and Paramedic. Paramedics do work in several our PCN practices already.

 

Which method are you most likely to use for updates regarding the Network Standard Hours?

Key notes linked to the above table and in reference to our current Network Standard Hours plan

• Weald will continue to enable and utilise the voice of its patients via Patient Participation Groups.
• Our receptionists will have up to date information regarding all NSHs being offered.
• Where possible we will not use practice noticeboards for up to date NSH information.
  • This is for several reasons; one is the impact on our environment and a desire for us all to play our part when looking after our planet. We also recognise the risk of ‘out of date’ information being left on view, causing frustration for patients and staff.
• In some cases, we will utilise patient mobile phone numbers and send updates via mass messaging platforms.
• Social media is currently used by a number of Practices and our PCN site can be seen on the Weald PCN Facebook. Practice and PCN social media will be used to communicate changes when needed.
• Practice websites will be our primary method of communication; nine of our ten practices now have

 

Published: Aug 2, 2022