Report Following Feedback from Patient Association Questionnaire 2012 375 Returned

RSPG SURVEY 2012

RSPG – Ridgeway Surgery Patient Group

When registering with our surgeries, all new patients are made awareabout the patient group. Patients are asked if they wish to become members and their details are passed to the Patient Group Committee. We actively encourage all of our patients to join the group which has a membership of 799 at present.

The RSPG have a notice board in the reception area and part of the display asks for volunteers to join the committee and influence the development of services within the practice. The Committee at present has a mix of sexes, ages and ethnic groups, although enlisting the help of younger members is always a problem and one we continue to address.

The Committee met in December 2011 and over a period of two weeks developed a patient questionnaire in conjunction with the practice staff and the Partners. It was subsequently amended to take into account the suggestions and feedback of all members of the RSPG.

In the first week of January we sent this questionnaire to 80 randomly selected patients representing all age bands, ethnic groups and sexes. These patients were asked for their feedback concerning the content of the questionnaire. This was discussed with the RSPG, their views taken into account and finalised the 2011/12 questionnaire we posted in February 2012.In addition, they were also available at the Reception, at both the Ridgeway Surgery and the Ridgeway @ Alex.

We’ve received 375 completed questionnaires. This is the example of the final questionnaire as agreed by the RSPG for Patient Survey 2011/12

THE RIDGEWAY SURGERY AND RIDGEWAY SURGERY PATIENT GROUP (RSPG) QUESTIONNAIRE

This first section is optional; you can choose not to answer it.

Sex: Male Female

Age: Under 25 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75 and older

Ethnicity: White British/Irish/Other Asian Indian/Pakistani/Other

Black British/African/Other Mixed Other

1) At any of your previous visits, have you received any information leaflet regarding your medical condition? Y N N/A

If YES was it useful for you to better understand your medical condition? Y N

If NO would you like to receive such information at a future visit? Y N

2) Following your consultation, did you have enough information to enable you to understand and manage your problem? Y N

3) Do you have a long term condition? Y N

If YES, which long term condition do you have?

CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE

ASTHMA

DIABETES

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

ARTHRITIS

OTHER……………………………………………………………………………………….

If YES, do you have a written personalised care plan to help you manage your condition?Y N

If NO, do you think it would be useful for you to have one? Y N

4) Are you aware of the Ridgeway Surgery website? ( Y N

If you don’t have internet access (skip to question 6)

Would you like general information regarding long-term conditions available on the website? Y N

Did you know you can order prescriptions online? Y N

Would you like to have access to an online appointment booking system? Y N

What other matters would you like to appear on The Ridgeway Surgery website?

……………………………………………………………………......

5) Are you aware of the RSPG pages on the website? Y N

If YES, have you accessed them? Y N

WAITING TIME

6a) At your last visit, were you seen within a reasonable time of your appointment? Y N

6b) What do you think is a reasonable time?

10 – 20 minutesutes later than appointment

20 – 30 minutesutes later than appointment

Longer

6c) If your wait is often longer than you think is reasonable, would you be in favour of any of the following?

One appointment, one problem rule

15 minutesute appointments (instead of 10 minutesute slots) which would result in fewer appointments

Make no change

7) What could the surgery offer to improve the time you spend in the waiting area?

Wi-Fi Access to a computer

Quiet AreaElectronic Information Board

Children’s AreaDaily Newspapers

Make no changes

Other (please specify) …………………………………………………….

8) Nurses do not usually undertake telephone consultations

Would you like to be able to contact a Nurse via the telephone? Y N

If YES, for which of the following areas

TravelHealth Promotions

Child ImmunisationsLong term conditions

General Nurse Advice

9) The surgery has ten incominutesg lines and we answer as soon as possible.

Are you happy with our current phone system? Y N

Would you be happier if you had a limited menu to choose from to divert your call? Y N

10) Regarding Access to a Clinician

Are you able to book to see a doctor within the next 2 days?Y N

Are you able to see a Nurse within the next 2 days?Y N

Can you book more than two weeks in advance?Y N

In an emergency have you been able to see a doctor on the same dayY N N/A

Are you generally able to see the doctor you want to see?Y N

Are you happy with the surgery opening hours?Y N

Do you have any other suggestions about accessing appointments?

………………………………………………………………..

11) Rate the following according to their importance for you from 1-5

(1 – very important, 5 – little or no importance)

1 2 3 4 5

Waiting time

Patient information leaflets

Personalised care plans

Nurse telephone contact

Quality of Care

Comments: ………………………………………………………………………………………......

Over a period of one month the questionnaire was made available to all of our patients. So that a cross section of opinions was available we posted 100 to random 14 – 19 year olds (a notoriously difficult group of patients to liaise with and 64 (all) of our housebound patients, as well as the original 80 who formed our reference group. This questionnaire was made available both at The Ridgeway and at our Branch Surgery at Alexandra Avenue.

Data was collected and collated from the 375 returned questionnaires and the feedback was presented to the RSPG and the Partners at the beginning of March 2012. At this meeting the RSPG and the Partners discussed the actions required to address any issues and changes that could be made to meet the needs of our patients as highlighted by the questionnaire.

The Action Plan was forwarded to the original reference group with reply envelopes. We received only three, two replies to say thank you and to let us know they found it very interesting, and one which commended the process and the analysis and complimented the entire surgery for its efficiency.

The following charts show graphically and statistically the results of the above:

SEX

AGE

The practice were pleased with the final analysis of ages, this shows we were able to span all age groups and feedback was fairly even between the under 25’s all the way to the over 75’s.

ETHNICITY

When patients were asked, “Following a consultation do you feel you had been given enough information to help you manage your problem -87% of those that answered said they were happy with the information given.

With regard to the Website 70% of those that answered knew about the Website only 19% of those that replied however, are aware of the RSPG pages accessible from The Ridgeway Surgery Website.

We have taken steps to remedy this lack of patient information. For example posters have been put up in the reception and they will be included in the next patient leaflet.

PATIENTS AWARE THEY CAN ORDER PRESCRIPTIONS ON-LINE

This too has already been addressed. We have designed posters to alert the patients to this service. It will also be added as a message to the right hand side of our prescriptions.

Of those that answered 70% of patients would like the practice to consider on-line appointment booking. As a result of this feedback the practice is investigating the cost and availability of this service and will feed back results to the RSPG

When asked if patients were satisfied with the waiting time to see a Dr or a Nurse, we were very pleased to see that in general our patients are happy.

78% of all those that answered felt that an acceptable wait time was 10 – 20 minutes and 18% felt 20 – 30 minutes was acceptable.

A poster has also been designed to explain to our patients the reasons why on occasion a Dr/Nurse may be running late. Those examples are - urgent admission, being On Call, dealing with comprehensive health issues, etc. We hope that by informing patients of varied issues which may evolve during the day, the anxiety of waiting, not knowing what is taking so long, etc will assist our patients and they will have better understanding of issues facing their Dr/Nurse every day.

Various ideas were put forward for consideration regarding the facilities and surroundings when and if you have to wait to see a Dr/Nurse. This includes Wi-Fi, Newspapers, children’s area. The Practice Manager and Partners will look into the practicalities and cost of meeting those needs and feedback to the PRG.

Another very popular idea was that we arrange telephone consultations with the Nurses

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE ABLE TO CONTACT A NURSE VIA THE TELEPHONE

The top two reasons patients felt this would be helpful were:

40% of patients wanted this to discuss general health worries and

37% to discuss travel advice

It was felt that this area needsfurther consideration and input will be required from other colleagues, primarily the Nursing staff. We have agreed to work on this project in the coming year and see how it evolves with clear measurable outcomes, e.g. better information for the patients which will enable them to better plan travel vaccines. Feedback will be discussed with RSPG and shared with our patients in coming months.

87% of the patients who answered the question regarding satisfaction with the telephone system said they were happy with the current system.This compares to the 2011 Mori Poll which was 85%

The possibility of adding a limited number of divert choices is being investigated and considered for 2012 – 2013.With regard to access, we are happy to report the following:

Are you able to see Dr within the next two days?

90% said YES.This compares to the 2011 Mori Poll which was 95%

Are you able to see a Nurse within the next two days?

84% said YES.

Can you book two weeks in advance?

67% who answered said YES.

In an emergency are you able to see a Dr on the same day?

73% said YES and for 20% it was not applicable.

Are you generally able to see the Dr you choose?

73% said YES. This compares to the 2011 Mori Poll which was 74%

Are you happy with the surgery opening hours?

94% of those that answered were happy with the hours. This compares to the 2011 Mori Poll which was 94%

SUMMARY

We are currently reviewing to providing patients with additional printed information regarding their condition as well as making specialist leaflets available; this was particularly relevant to those with Long Term Conditions who would also appreciate Care Plans.

Feedback we received concerning Long Term Conditions will be used by the Practice and RSPG to plan future Health Care evenings or days.

One of our Registrars will be writing an article for the next newsletter, giving a range of examples as to why patient may need to wait beyond their appointment time.

Further action will be taken regarding the car park and the Practice Manager will look at resurfacing during the coming months.

Opening of the Branch Surgery has addressed many of the access points raised by our patients.

We will be looking into the possibility of a separate divert for emergency calls, which cannot wait.

The practice will look at On Line booking with an aim to making it available in the coming year.

Posters have been designed to address the following concerns of the patients:

Patients who feel too ill to wait

Prescriptions available on line

Where to find the RSPG information on our Website

And an explanation to the reasons a clinician may be running late

We will follow up this questionnaire with another one for 2012-13, where we will look at the areas raised in 2012 and the changes that have taken place, as well as any new issues raised.

The Ridgeway Surgery

28th March 2012