GP Patient Survey reveals demand is ‘continuing to outstrip capacity’

The 2023 GP Patient Survey (GPPS) has revealed that satisfaction with access to primary care it at an all-time low.

The survey reveals that, during the last year, just half (49.8%) of patients found it easy to get through to someone on the phone at their GP practice. This is down from 52.7% in 2022 and 67.6% in 2021.

When patients did manage to get an appointment, again, only half (54.4%) reported a good overall experience, which is now at the lowest level for six years.

Poor experiences in booking GP appointments has led more people to avoid seeing their GP. Last year, roughly half (51%) avoided making an appointment, with 28% saying this was because they found it too difficult, 10% because they didn’t have enough time and 5% because they were concerned about catching Covid.

71% had a good overall experience at their GP

Despite the difficulties in getting healthcare appointments, the vast majority of patients reported feeling confidence and trust in their healthcare professional (93.0% in 2023, 93.1% in 2022) and said their needs were met (91.0% in both 2023 and 2022).

Other key findings include:

• 71% had a good overall experience at their GP practice (compared to 72% in 2022)
• 85% of patients said their healthcare professional was good at listening to them
• 84% of patients said their healthcare professional gave them enough time
• 84% of patients said their healthcare professional treated them with care and concern.

However, choice was found to be lacking, with just 33% offered a choice of time or day, 20% offered a choice of type of appointment, 17% offered a choice of place and 7% offered a choice of healthcare professional.

“Increased demand is resulting in a decrease in patient satisfaction”

Ruth Rankine, director of primary care at the NHS Confederation, says while it is encouraging to see that levels of confidence in healthcare professionals has remained stable, GPs will be concerned at how many patients struggled to access appointments.

She said: “Primary care is the bedrock of the NHS, and general practice the bedrock of primary care, and this survey shows it continues to go above and beyond for patients in the face of ever-increasing demand.

“Patients highly rate the level of care they are receiving from general practices and leaders will be pleased to see increased patient satisfaction with the duration of appointments along with being treated with care and concern by healthcare professionals. Four in five patients rated their care as good, which is up on the previous year.

“Levels of confidence and trust in clinical staff have remained stable, as has patients’ assessment of whether they felt listened to and had their needs met, showing that quality of care is holding steady despite the challenges general practice is experiencing.

“Despite 17% more appointments being delivered than pre-pandemic, and more delivered face to face, demand is continuing to outstrip capacity. With 77% of patients having sought an appointment in the past 6 months, and only 51% receiving an appointment at a time they wanted, it is clear that increased demand is resulting in a decrease in patient satisfaction around access.

“Without expansion of the workforce, which with the long-term workforce plan will happen – albeit slowly, there are limited actions that can be taken in the short-term to meet demand. This demonstrates the importance of at scale primary care provision, which is why we need commitment to Primary Care Networks beyond 23/24, as well as to ensure the continuation of evening and Saturday appointments.

“We also need to see investment in the primary care estate, as not only do many buildings require repair, but there will need to be a physical expansion of the estate in order to house the additional workforce and improve access.”