General information on the GP Patient Survey
What is The GP Patient Survey?
The GP Patient Survey (GPPS) is part of the Government’s commitment to make the NHS more responsive to patients’ needs. The survey asks patients about a range of issues, such as how easy or difficult it is for patients to make an appointment at their surgery, satisfaction with opening hours, and the quality of care received from their GP and practice nurses.
Why do we have The GP Patient Survey?
The results of the survey will be used to allow PCTs to reward practices that are delivering a high standard of access to their patients. This information is also available to help other patients choose which practice to register with.
The Department of Health has set some standards for how easy it should be for people to book an appointment with their doctor. The survey measures how well GP surgeries are meeting these standards and therefore helping surgeries and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) understand where improvements are needed.
How is it measured?
Questionnaires were sent out in early 2009 to around five and a half million adults who are registered with a GP in England. These postal questionnaires were mailed out to patients’ homes in January 2009 and reminders were sent in February and March 2009 to people who had not returned the questionnaire.
Click here for a summary of results.