GPC response to Scotland's patient survey results - 19 May 09

Source

Commenting on the publication today (Tuesday 19 May 2009) of the results of Scotland’s patient access survey, Dr Laurence Buckman, Chairman of the BMA’s GPs Committee, said:

• “Even though the results yet again show high levels of patient satisfaction in GP services, the problems faced by some GPs in Scotland due to this year’s patient survey results will worry GPs across the UK. I very much hope that what has happened in Scotland isn’t repeated in the other nations.
• “It is very important that there are ways for GPs to get patient feedback, we need it if we are to maintain and improve the quality of our services, but we have had concerns about this particular survey ever since it was imposed on the NHS and our advice on its construction was ignored: In England and Northern Ireland the survey is far too long and some of our patients have objected to a number of the questions asked within it. We’ve now seen in Scotland that there have been extremely low response rates to certain questions meaning we can’t be sure that the results accurately reflect the views of the practice population.
• “The financial impact on some practices has been huge and unfair. For a practice to lose a large amount of funding because the survey methodology is flawed is appalling and patients will lose out if there is a knock on effect on services.
• “We now sadly have an annual government survey aimed at improving patient access which could actually end up making it worse. To repeatedly spend millions of pounds on this flawed endeavour at a time when patient services may be cut because of the current financial climate is poor value for money for the taxpayer. We ask the UK governments to urgently review the consequences of this year’s survey and to commit to withdrawing it from next year.”

Notes:

• The Scotland survey results have been published online at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Health/Publications
• The English survey results will be published at the end of June.

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