Getting an appointment with a GP is a major concern
The GP Patient Survey is an independent survey on how people feel about their GP practice run by Ipsos MORI on behalf of NHS England and sent to over a million people across the UK.
According to the latest results, getting an appointment with a GP is a major issue for people.
In terms of getting an appointment, 1 in 4 of those that responded to the survey said they experienced difficulty getting through on the phone and 1 in 8 said the whole experience was either poor or very poor.
Responding to the results, our Chair, Anna Bradley, said:
"The problem is not how satisfied people are with their GP, it's whether or not they can get to see them in the first place.
"We recognise that GPs are stretched but, according to our research, difficulty getting an appointment is now the public's number one health concern.
"There are lots of ideas on the table, from evening and weekend opening to setting new targets around guaranteed waiting times, but the real key here is to ask people how they want to be able to access their family doctor.
"Improving access to primary care, not just GPs but pharmacies, community nursing and dentists, could help ease the huge pressure on A&E departments and must be a priority for health and social care leaders."
