Small is Best?

Latest results from the Department of Health GP Patient survey show that you are more likely to get through on the telephone, see a GP reasonably quickly and receive the appointment you ask for if you are a patient in a small practice.
Practices with the highest score for being easy to get through on the telephone were single GP practices in Fleetwood and Thornton. The highest scoring group practices are to be found in Gt. Eccleston and Kirkham.
It is also striking that across Wyre and Fylde the best surgery is four time easier to get through on the phone than the worst.
A similar picture emerges when when you look at making an appointment within two days or beyond with small practices in Fleetwood and Thornton achieving the best results. While some group practices scored well they did not achieve the same consistently high performance of their smaller neighbours.
Finally, if you want to see the GP of choice, being in a smaller practice means you will always be able to vist the one GP available. However, group practices in Thornton, St Annes and Great Eccleston scored well in this category.

So what are GPs doing to improve access to their services?

The Royal College of GPs has recently published an extensive guide on how to improve patient access. This guide can help GPs and their teams to engage with their patients, improve the practice environment, install the best telephone system and to manage and meet demand.
The guide is produced by GPs themselves and is based on their own best practice. A copy has gone to all GPs in Wyre and Fylde so there is no shortage of constructive advice on how to improve patient access.
A key component of this improvement is engaging with patients and Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) are an important part of the process.

The number of PPGs in England is increasing, 40% of practices now have one. Each PPG is be different, evolving to meet local needs, but they work to give practices a patient perspective on services. Patient participation is not just a forum for complaints, a doctorsfan club, or a time-consuming activity for practice staff. It's patients working with a practice to improve services based on cooperation.

Members of the Wyre Senior Forum have been working with practice managers from Wyre and Fylde and North Lancs PCT to lay the foundations for these anticipated improvements to access.
Forum chair Tony Ward welcomed the guide saying It's clear that GPs have done a lot of work identifying ways in which they can improve access it's now up to patients to become part of that process by asking their GP to start a Patient Participation Group as the first step