Local NHS leaders have reconfirmed their commitment to improving access to general practice services for patients in Broxbourne with the publication of a report by Healthwatch Hertfordshire.
NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) commissioned Healthwatch Hertfordshire to survey Broxbourne residents to help the local NHS understand their experience of accessing general practice services and to produce a report with recommendations.
The survey found that whilst most people said their appointments were good, many found it difficult to access services. The survey showed that most patients are using the telephone to make appointments with their practice: of these 26% said this was easy while 64% said it was difficult. For most respondents, this was because the phone line was engaged or because they had to wait a long time, sometime for up to an hour, to get through to a receptionist.
Respondents do not want to have to rely on the telephone as their only route to access services. Respondents who used online services to make an appointment with their practice tended to have a more positive experience, with 60% receiving a response either on the same day or the next day.
Positive feedback from patients included GP practices providing appointments when needed, offering support to respondents, and reception staff and healthcare professionals listening and respecting their concerns.
Recommendations from Healthwatch Hertfordshire included:
- 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.
- Improving 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, particularly parents and carers and vulnerable groups, to contact their GP practice if they have concerns about their own health or of those they care for.
- Work with practices to ensure they are promoting themselves effectively to their patients and explaining the different ways in which patients can get in touch.
GP practices continue to be very busy with 52,000 appointments delivered to the nearly 120,000 registered patients in the Broxbourne area in January 2023. The ICB is using the feedback and recommendations from the Healthwatch survey to help improve access to services from patients in the context of this high demand. It is already taking action to improve access to GP practice and addressing some of the areas identified in the Healthwatch Hertfordshire report.
- The ICB has recently procured a new range of online and video consultation tools to support practices in improving access. Practices are also being offered support with standardising the layout and content of their practice website to make information more accessible to patients.
- Funding has been secured for £1.7m for practices to upgrade their telephone systems to increase the number of phone lines into a practice to reduce waits and provide information for patients on their queue position. Three practices have already gone live and we are working closely with the rest of the practices in Broxbourne.
- Support with developing practice patient groups (PPGs) to give patients a greater voice in the workings of their practice. A steering group made up of patients, Healthwatch, practice managers and ICB representatives is providing learning and resources to help this.
- Extending the community pharmacy consultation scheme whereby practice staff assess patients with some minor illnesses to see if can be offered an appointment with a community pharmacist instead of a GP. There have been over 1,000 GP practice referrals to community pharmacies in Broxbourne.
Dr Jane Halpin, Chief Executive of Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB, said: “Our GP practices are seeing a far higher demand for services than before the pandemic and our practice staff are working extremely hard to deliver high quality and timely care. Even so, we recognise that the high demand is leading to many local residents having difficulty accessing services and we are truly sorry for that. We are working to transform our general practice services so that we are better able to meet patients’ needs now and in the future. This includes extending the availability of online and digital support for those people who want it, investing in telephone systems and growing the support offered by community pharmacists.
“Unfortunately, the survey showed that some respondents felt they couldn’t contact their GP practice because they were concerned about burdening the NHS, worried they wouldn’t get through or assumed they wouldn’t get an appointment. We would like to remind everyone that GP practices and other parts of the NHS are here to help. If you are concerned about an ongoing symptom please don’t hesitate to contact your GP practice, NHS111 or your local pharmacy. ”
Healthwatch Hertfordshire Chief Executive Geoff Brown said: “This important research has shone a light on the issues facing patients in the Broxbourne area when it comes to accessing GP services. We look forward to seeing what improvements can be made and will be monitoring these to ensure people receive the best possible care.”
The report is available on the Healthwatch Hertfordshire website: HwH Broxbourne GP Access Report FINAL.pdf (healthwatchhertfordshire.co.uk)
This is one of a series of surveys that the ICB has commissioned Healthwatch to carry out in support of work to improve patient access to healthcare. The ICB will use these surveys and other feedback from patients alongside any changes in national guidance to ensure we are improving patients’ access to general practice and other services.
If patients have concerns about their practice, they should first contact the practice manager. Patients can also connect with their patient practice group to make concerns known. If you are unable to resolve your complaint with the practice, please contact NHS England by email, england.contactus@nhs.net or phone 0300 311 22 33.
More information about GP services can be found at: https://hertsandwestessex.icb.nhs.uk/local-servcies/general-practice