Deer Park Family Medical Practice Questionnaire By CJ

Deer Park Family Medical Practice Questionnaire By (CJ) Patient Representative

The patients were asked, which of the following GP appointment types they knew about. 19% 39% 24% 18% Not all patients knew about all of the different types of appointments these may be leaving patients at a slight disadvantage. Therefore all patients need to be made aware of all the types of appointments that are available to them. This could be posted on the website, told to them when they ring up to book an appointment or it could be posted up on flyers around the surgery.

The patients were asked how they book their appointments. 16% 27% 3% 54% of the patients said they book appointments over the phone, this means a huge amount of people are ringing up making the staff busy and leaving them unable to deal with people in surgery as quickly. Many of the people said that they did not know you could book online, therefore there is a definite need to make patients aware of this as it may be much easier and quicker for many patients and would free up the reception staff quite a lot.

The patients were asked if they found the automated phone system easy to understand. 21% 79% of the patients that use this service find it easy to use and informative. This is positive feedback showing that the system in place is obviously good. However from the previous answer we can see that only 16% of the patients actually use this service in the first place. This could either be due to a lack of awareness of the service or because patients who are less able to hear find this service hard to use. The lack of use of this service may need addressing and people should be encouraged to use this in order to save the time of the receptionists on the phone.

The patients were asked if they found booking appointments online easy to do. 42% 58% Only 58% of the people who book online find it easy. This means it may be worth re-structuring the website in order to make it easier to book online. However only 3% of the patients asked said they booked online, this figure is surprisingly low therefore people need to be made aware that this service is available and also encouraged to use it. It will save time and energy from both them and the reception staff.

The patients were asked if when they book an appointment in the surgery they find the reception staff friendly and willing to help. 3% 97% of the patients that answered this question said they found the staff friendly and willing to help. This high percentage reflects greatly on the surgery and the staff that work in it. With only 3% of patients saying they did not find the staff friendly and this tended to only be on one occasion.

The patients were asked if they knew that they could cancel appointments using the automated system or online. 39% 61% The people that said they did not know about this service were referring to the online service. Therefore this needs to be advertised to patients much more clearly. However the patients that did know about this service were referring to cancelling via the automated system as it tells you on there when you book it that you can also cancel via this service too.

The patients were asked if they have heard of/attend Well Man/Woman clinics. 40% 60% With only 40% of the patients actually knowing about this service, the service it not being used to its full potential. The target patients need to be made fully aware of all options available to them. However this service is a great idea and once everyone knows about it, it will be able to be used to it full potential.

The patients were asked if they did attend Well Man/Woman clinics did they find them useful? 11% 89% With only 11% of patients not finding these clinics useful then I think these clinics are successful. However I do think a further investigation into why these 11% of people did not find it useful is needed in order to improve the service further and try to please all the patients taking part in the facilities.

The patients were asked if they had not heard of Well Man/Woman clinics, then why? 37% 42% 21% This shows there is a huge need for more advertising, even if they do not enter the surgery very often the service could be advertised online or via flyers through local doors.

The patients were asked which way they would find the most useful for new or key services to be advertised. 5% 24% 40% 31% A newsletter is the most popular way of advertising. This may be because most of the patients are of the older generation therefore find this easier to receive. If you only advertise through the notice board then you are excluding all the patients who do not come into the surgery regularly, therefore a wide range of advertising may be necessary.

The patients were asked if they would appreciate a text reminding them of their appointment. 45% 55% The split in opinion may mean that introducing an optional text service is a feasible option as not to upset any patients by sending unwanted texts. The majority of people who answered no to this question were worried about the cost that this service may bring to the surgery.

The patients were asked if they knew which hatch to go to when entering the surgery. 25% 75% 25% of the patients did not know which hatch to queue at and of these people 100% of them said that more signs above the hatches would help them to know where to queue. However as the majority of patients have been before they know where they need to queue for the doctors, although many of these people said they were unaware what the other hatches in the surgery were for.

The patients were asked if they knew which hatch to queue at then why? 25% 39% 36% 25% of the patients are frequent visitors therefore they know where to queue, however of these numerous people said they learnt from going to the wrong hatch. 36% of the patients said that there are sufficient signs, however as the people who did not know where to queue said that signs would improve this, there may still be a need to add more clear signs. 39% of the patients said that the staff were friendly and helped them out. This is a highly positive comment and portrays the staff in a good light.

The patients were asked if they travel by car do they think there are sufficient car parking spaces. 47% 53% of the patients who travel by car have said that there are not enough car parking spaces. A lot of these people also said that it depends what time of day you come, at certain times of the day people use the car park to pick up/drop off their children at school. With over half the patients feeling this way, this issue should be addressed by introducing some sort of system that stops people parking there unless using the surgery. A barrier with a code, that you have to retrieve from inside has proved successful in the Tennis Centre and could be used here too.

The patients were asked if they are happy with the overall service they are provided with. 2% 98% of the patients said that they were happy with the service provided, this is a great reflection on all that goes on in this surgery. The staff have been highly praised, the facilities speak for themselves and with a wide range of services everyone is catered for. Only 2% of the patients said that they were not happy and most of these people seemed to have grievances with one or two particular staff members. This should not be a reflection on the whole service provided.