Broxbourne residents struggle to access GPs
Our latest Accessing GP Services: Views from Broxbourne Patients Report showed that many people really struggled to get in contact with their GP practice, as phone lines were continuously engaged or they were left to wait on hold for long periods of time.
Local NHS leaders have responded to our Report saying they are committed to improving access to services and addressing the concerns raised by Broxbourne residents. This includes equipping GP services with new telephony systems and increasing online booking availability.
Why did we do this research?
In late 2022 the Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB Primary Care Board (ICB) asked Healthwatch Hertfordshire to gather patient feedback about access to GP services, because they wanted to hear from patients and address their concerns.
Specifically, the ICB wanted to hear from particular groups of people including residents in the Borough of Broxbourne. Although access to GP services is an issue across Hertfordshire, Broxbourne has been a particular area of concern with GP practices under considerable pressure.
From August to October 2022, we heard from 119 people who provided a range of positive and negative feedback about their experiences. GP practices delivered 52,000 appointments to the nearly 120,000 registered patients in the Broxbourne area in January 2023.
What did people tell us?
The majority of respondents noted negative experiences when trying to access their GP and, in turn, patients lost confidence that their GP practice would give them the support they needed.
- Respondents said they would like a variety of routes to contact their GP, including online services and visiting the practice in person.
- Only 10% said they could choose the type of appointment given – video call, phone call or face to face – and this was frustrating given the severity or nature of their symptoms.
- 28% of respondents could not get an appointment with their GP practice, with none available even weeks in advance.
- Some said they were reluctant to contact their GP practice after receiving poor treatment from receptionists and/or healthcare professionals; others said they didn’t want to add to demands on the NHS.
- 55% looked for information and advice elsewhere including NHS 111 or visited an Urgent Care Centre or A&E when other options were exhausted.
- Where people had good experiences, they praised the support their GP practice had provided and felt listened to and respected. Best practice and learning from these should be shared in Broxbourne and across the county.
What happens next?
In terms of what would improve their experience, the most common answer respondents gave was to enable additional access routes for getting through to their GP practice. Also improving telephone systems, providing more appointments, offering more choice and better quality of care from both reception staff and healthcare professionals.
The ICB is using the feedback and recommendations outlined in our report to help improve access to services with initiatives including:
- Offering patients different ways of accessing appointments and support including online and in person booking. Enabling online access for patients if this function is not already available.
- Additional funding to improve telephone systems to reduce delays and waiting times for patients.
- Making more appointments bookable in advance for routine or non-urgent needs.
- Choice of appointments to meet the particular needs of people who work, have caring responsibilities, or who have a disability or a long-term condition.
- Continuing to encourage patients to contact their GP practice if they have concerns about their own health or those they care for.
- Work with practices to ensure they are promoting themselves effectively to their patients and explaining various ways in which patients can get in touch and the different healthcare professionals who can help.
- Support to develop practice patient groups (PPGs).
"This important research has shone a light on the issues facing patients in the Broxbourne area when it comes to accessing GP services. We are concerned by the challenges faced by patients and look forward to seeing what improvements can be made. We will be monitoring these to ensure people receive the best possible care."
- Geoff Brown, Chief Executive Healthwatch Hertfordshire
"Practices are working hard to deliver high-quality and timely care to their patients in the face of ongoing challenges and pressures arising from a growing, ageing population and a national shortage of clinicians. We’re committed to working with general practice to improve services: understanding patients’ experiences, needs and views is a key part of this work. That is why we commissioned Healthwatch as an impartial organisation to deliver this survey for us and provide us with a report and some recommendations. We are grateful to everyone who took the time to share their views."
- Dr Jane Halpin, Chief Executive of Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB
Downloads
Read the full report here:
