Survey reveals 90% are satisfied with GP services

Results from the national GP Patient Survey reveal that 90% of patients are satisfied with the services they receive from their GP.

The survey, which was completed by 2.1 million patients from July 2009 to June 2010, found that:

• 90% of patients are satisfied with the care they receive at their surgery
• 94.2% of patients have confidence and trust in their doctor
• 88.8% of patients say their doctor gives them enough time
• 83.1% of patients would recommend their GP surgery to someone who moved to the local area.

The survey revealed that 84% of people with a long-term health problem or disability had already discussed their condition with a GP or nurse at the practice. Of those:

• 88% felt that the doctor or nurse listened to their views about how to manage their health problem
• 88% say they were advised on things they could try to improve their condition
• 84% agreed with the doctor or nurse about how best to manage their health problem.

Results also indicated, however, that:

• 21.5% of respondents thought they had to wait “a bit too long” before being seen by their GP
• 6.6% of respondents said they had to wait “far too long” before being seen by their GP
• 13% of respondents felt that the level of care provided by the out-of-hours service at their practice was poor.

The survey was conducted by research company Ipsos-MORI on behalf of the Department of Health.