Patients in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland give their experience of GP practices

The NHS in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland has published the findings from a survey carried out earlier this year, to understand people’s recent experience of healthcare provided by local GP practices.

Among the aspects of their experience patients rated most highly were the helpfulness of the receptionist and the care they received from health professionals in the practice. 

• 80% of respondents found the receptionist helpful and at least 82% had a good experience with the health professional that looked after them.
• 66% of respondents had a good overall experience of using their practice and 59% had a good experience of making their last appointment.
• 68% found it easy to use their practice’s website for information or to access services and 55% of respondents found it easy to get through to their practice on the phone.
• 62% were satisfied with the appointments they were offered.

The survey was arranged in partnership between NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and groups of practices, known as primary care networks, to understand the impact of new ways of working in general practice and how services could be improved. The findings will inform how practices develop in the future to make it easier for patients to get the care they need.

The survey ran from 22 January to 10 March 2024 and received around 29,000 responses. It asked about people’s experiences of contacting their practice, making an appointment and the care they received, and was open to anybody aged 16 years or over and who was registered with a GP practice in Leicester, Leicestershire or Rutland.

You can view the report of findings on the website for NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board.

Dr Nil Sanganee, Chief Medical Officer for NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland said:

“We have received a fantastic response to the survey and would like to thank everyone who took the time to participate and provide us with such detailed insights to further progress our existing improvement plans. Practices work very differently now to what some patients may be used to, and it is heartening to hear how much patients still appreciate the help and care they receive from their local practice.

“There is more work to do, particularly to improve patients’ ability to contact their practice and book an appointment. Our practices are continuing to work hard in these areas, introducing new telephone and appointment systems, supporting patients to use new technology and using their mix of health professionals in creative ways.”

Bridge Street Medical Practice in Loughborough has seen their patient feedback improve as a result of new telephone and appointment systems.

Dr Leslie Borrill, a GP partner at the practice, said: “We have worked really hard to make adjustments at Bridge Street to make improvements for patients. We have implemented a new appointment system which has had very positive feedback, which now includes pre-bookable appointments, so patients can book online and this also allows those with long-term care needs to see the doctors they have built up relationships with. We have had lots of great feedback on our new telephone system, which offers call backs. We also offer supportive clinics for our patients such as living with menopause, a ‘walk with a GP’ group and a digital hub, where we help patients become familiar with using the NHS App. Underpinning all this has been a focus on staff wellbeing and leadership, and an active patient participation group.”

Most practices in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland now have cloud-based telephone systems in place. One such practice is Desford Medical Centre.

Dr Manoj Maini, a senior GP partner at the practice said: Our ethos has always been to treat every patient in the same manner as we ourselves would like to be treated. Recognising that each patient has reached out to us, with a health need, we will always listen, be caring and do our best to help. We have introduced a cloud-based telephone system this year, and patients have benefitted from the call back service this has enabled us to offer.

“We study our monthly data and know that we now answer calls, on average, within two minutes. So, seeing this data has really helped us to focus additional resources on telephones at peak times. We have promoted the NHS App by holding walk-in sessions at the surgery, to assist patients to register and teach them how to use it. This in turn has improved our access, as patients can order prescriptions and see test results on the app.”

Practices now have a varied mix of health professionals who work alongside doctors and nurses to care for patients.

Dr Umesh Roy, a senior GP partner at Fosse Family Practice, said: “Patient experience has always been positive at our practice, and we are committed to continuing to provide the best possible care for our patients. We focus on providing the right kind of care based on patients’ needs and symptoms, offering appointments with paramedics, clinical pharmacists, physiotherapists and other professionals working within or alongside the practice team.

“Our telephone systems have recently been upgraded and patients are notified of their queue position and wait time; they don’t get an engaged tone. They can ring the practice at any time during the day to book an appointment. Routine appointments are available to book up to two to three weeks in advance and we offer appointments at the weekend. Same-day slots are available for patients with acute illnesses and for children. This means we can offer continuity of care to those patients that need it, which our patients really value.”