Patient Participation – Bewicke Medical Centre  Annual Report

Introduction.

Over the course of the last year our Patient Group( PRG) has met on  5 occasions and during this time there has been 2 new members joining the group. 

The notes of the meetings held during 2012/2013 are available on our website www.bewickemedicalcentre.co.uk or via the Practice Manager.

Our Group Members

We currently have 13 patients on our group. The age range of patients is from 32 to 83. The profile of the group includes the following:

- A retired GP and his wife
- A married couple who have been registered with us for a combined total of over 90 years
- A registered carer
- A member of a local Townswoman’s Guild
- An ex Samaritan
- 2 working mums
- Several chronic disease sufferers.
- A retired businessman linked to North Tyneside Council.
  
There are 2 new members to the group:	
- A midwife bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience working in a local hospital.
- A lady with many years experience in a marketing background.

We have tried hard to ensure that our group is as representative of our patient population as possible however, there are some groups, in particular younger patients and patients from ethnic backgrounds who, despite our best effort; are not currently represented. During the year and with the support of our staff, patients attending the surgery have been asked if they would be interested in becoming part of the patient group. GP’s have actively identified possible patients within these target groups and we have personally invited them to our meetings. The response from letters sent has showed some promise, with a number of patients who are unavailable to attend the meetings expressing a willingness in getting involved in a virtual patient group once this has been set up. We will continue to target these groups in the current year.

2012/2013 Action Plan

At the end of 2012/13 we identified an action plan for our patient group and during the year we have made the following progress.

Action	Results	
Re-run the survey at 6 monthly intervals to potentially capture the views of a different patient pool.	The group made the decision to run the survey on an annual basis. The survey was then carried out in January 2013, the results of the survey feature at the end of this report. A copy of the survey, together with the results are available on our website.	

Undertake a telephone survey to obtain feedback on our current telephone system in anticipation of a potential change of system within the next 2 years.	Our survey highlighted the difficulty patients experience in getting through to the surgery on the telephone.   As a result of the survey we took the decision to bring the telephone system change forward and we now anticipate that our new telephone system will be installed before the end of April 2013.   Feedback from the survey will be used in assisting with the initial set up of the telephone system which will include more robust key pad activation.   We are very keen to continue with the involvement of the Patient Group leading up to finally going live with our new system.	
Review and update the practice website/ promote same	The new practice website is currently under development and we are encouraging the patient group to get involved with the final stages prior to the launch in the next few months.	
Involve patient group in production of newsletters.	We have been encouraging our patient group to review and suggest changes to our regular patient newsletter and they have suggested a number of items for inclusion based on their own personal experience.	
Establish a web based patient reference group	We have not as yet established our virtual patient reference group however we are keen to do so later this year once our new website has been launched.   We envisage that our virtual group will include a larger group of patients than we meet with on a regular basis and that all communication will be via email.   We intend to use all staff, clinical and non-clinical  to encourage interest in our virtual group. 
	
Further advertise evening surgeries since it seems a number of patients are still unaware of this provision.	With the involvement of the patient group we have made changes to the way we advertise evening surgeries.   It is our intention to speak to local pharmacies in an attempt to make our newsletter more available to the local community. 	
Review prescription service	A review of our prescription service will be carried forward to 2013 action plan.	

Priority Areas identified during 2012.

As a result of our regular meetings, the patient group identified a number of other priorities which we have addressed throughout the year.

Actions	Results	
Fail to keep policy and procedure	The group reviewed the current policy and were in agreement that it was definitely worth keeping.  The group were keen to make sure that patients knew the size of the FTKA problem and suggested we provide prominent information for patients both about the number of patients failing appointments and about cancelling appointments. 	
Information pack for new patients.	The group reviewed the contents of the pack provided to all new patients and suggested a number of Improvements.  One of the suggestions which has been taken forward is the inclusion of a who’s who photo gallery of the GP’s and other staff. 	
Care Quality Commission Registration	We have tried to keep our patient group informed and involved in our registration with the CQC and provided them with information and brief training similar to that undertaken by surgery staff, including the importance of hand hygiene and Adult Safeguarding. The Patient Group were informed of our successful registration with 	
Review Car Parking issues	The car park issue was addressed with the introduction of designated parking bays and road markings.	

Patient Survey 

The Group agreed to undertaken a patient survey in January 2013. Further changes were made to layout of the survey for example introducing more visual pictures making it less complicated in an effort to increase participation.  The group were keen to make sure that the survey addressed the issues which had been included in the 2012/2013 action plan.

In total we distributed 550 questionnaires ( including a number posted to people who had been visited at home by a GP). 525 questionnaires  were completed ( 95%). This year the patient survey was made available via the website and although participation was low ( 8 replies in total), it is encouraging to know that patients are visiting the website and taking part in the survey following their consultation.

The following results were discussed at our Practice Meeting and by our Patient Group during the week commencing 28th February 2012.

-	75% of respondents commented that the ability to get through to the surgery on the phone was either good or very good.
-	2% of respondents ranked the helpfulness/attitude of the receptionists as poor.
-	99% of respondents commented that our opening hours were good or very good.
-	94% of respondents commented that the doctor answered all of their questions during the consultation.
-	100% of respondents commented that the nurse answered all of their questions during the consultation.
-	67% of the replies suggested that it was possible to get an appointment with a particular doctor within 2 working days, this increased to 92% when the respondent was happy to see any doctor.
-	7% of respondents said that they had not been able to get a same day appointment when they felt then needed to be seen urgently
-	19 people said that they had to wait more than 20 minutes before their consultation begun, with 133 people commenting that they were seen within 5 minutes of arriving at the surgery
-	There is still a large number of our patients who did not know that we have a website. 
-	There is a large number of our patients who did not know that they can order their repeat prescription online.
-	96% of respondents rated the helpfulness of our prescription staff either good or very good.
-	10% of respondents rated the opening times of our prescription telephone line as poor.
-	78 patients said that they found the ability to get through to the surgery on the telephone was poor.
-	38 patients said that the time taken for the prescription line to be answered was poor.
-	36 patients commented that when they want to see a particular doctor or nurse, they have to wait 5 or more working days.
-	19 patients commented that they had to wait more than 20 minutes for their consultation to begin.

Below is a snap shot of the particular comments we received. .

- 	“takes a long time in the morning “
-	“problems getting through to reception due to the reception being busy”
- 	“It is extremely difficult to get through in the mornings as lines are engaged”
- 	“ more late nights needed”
- 	“The attitude and approach of the receptionists is always positive and helpful.
-	“It would be better if you were able to get through when you call at 8am- takes a while and appointments are already taken”
-	“I have always had courteous and excellent treatment at the practice”
-	“More than happy with the service”
- 	“I would like to be able to make an afternoon appointment when ringing in the morning”
-	“Always happy with the Bewicke Medical Centre very caring Doctors, nurses and staff- never had a problem with any of the service Thank You”
-	“I think people should be made aware of the above service ( Website) and I wasn’t”
-	“I am not a regular visitor but I have never had an issue getting an appointment”
-	“ I had no idea I could order prescriptions online- I will be doing this from now on”

The results of the survey identified some key areas to focus on in the forthcoming year. When considering how best to launch our new website we need to be mindful of the survey results since it is clear that many of our patients are not aware of our website and have not therefore used it either to book an appointment or to order their repeat prescription.

The full and detailed results of the survey can be found under the heading of “2013 Survey Results” in this website.

2013/14 Action Plan

Our patient group action plan was discussed on the 28th February arising from the results of the survey is as follows:

Action 	Timescale	
Involve our patients in a review of our new telephone system ensuring that it meets their expectations.	By end of October 2013	
Formally review our new website and make any necessary changes	By end of October 2013	
Involve patient group in promoting the new website 	By end of June 2013	
Develop our web based patient reference group	On-going	
Review Test Results service 	By end of July 2013	
Review our waiting room arrangements with a view to improving patient information and comfort.	By the end of July 2013	
Review Prescription Service 	By end of September 2013	
Involve patient group in conducting a survey with patients in the waiting room as part of an on-going patient feedback loop 	By end of October 2013	

We anticipate that during the course of the year a number of other issues will arise for discussion and action and in is our intention therefore to review the action plan at regular intervals.

March 2013

Appendix 1- GP Patient Survey January 2013

Appendix 2- GP Patient Survey Results 2013

Appendix 3- Nurses Patient Survey Results 2013

Appendix 1

Bewicke Medical Centre Patient Survey
Dear Patient

We would be grateful if you would complete this survey about your visit today and the services we provide at the surgery. 

The Doctors want to provide the highest standard of care. Feedback from this survey will enable any  improvements needed. Your opinions are therefore very valuable. 

Please answer ALL the questions that apply to you. Your doctor will be unable to identify your individual responses. 

Thank you

Part of the survey is about the doctor you saw today, please write the doctor’s name below. 

Dr____________________________________________________

              
Poor	Good     Very 	        Not 
 Good	  Applicable

 	  	   	        

1	When you telephoned the surgery, how do you rate the following: 

			      	
	
a.	Ability to get through?	
		
b.   Ability to speak to a doctor?

Poor	Good 	Very Good

2 	How would you rate the
receptionist’s helpfulness / 
attitude?

Poor	Good 	Very Good

3	How do you rate our opening
 hours?

We are interested in any other comments if you have selected poor. 
Please write them here

4	Regarding our repeat prescription service, please rate the following:

Poor	Good 	Very Good

 	  	    

	a. Time taken to answer the phone

	b. Helpfulness of staff 

	c. Opening times of prescription line

We are interested in any other comments if you have selected poor.        
Please write them here

5	When you want to see a particular doctor, how quickly do you get an appointment? (please tick one box only) 

Same		    within 2		    within 4		   5 or more 
 Day		working days		working days		working days	

6	When you are willing to see any doctor, how quickly do you get an appointment? (please tick one box only)

Same		    within 2		    within 4		   5 or more 
 Day		working days		working days		working days	

     
Yes	  No 	Not Applicable

                                                                                         

7 	If you need to see a doctor urgently, can 
you get a same day appointment? 

8	How long did you wait for your consultation to begin?(please tick one box only)

5  minutes	          6-10		    10-20	               more than 
 Or less	       minutes	               minutes	              20 minutes	

                  
Poor	Good 	Very Good

 	   	       

 	   	       

 	   	       

 

9.Thinking about your consultation with the doctor today, how do you rate the following:

a.	How thoroughly the doctor asked about
your symptoms and how you are feeling?

b.	How well the doctor listened to what you
had to say?
	
c.	How well the doctor put you at ease 
during your physical examination?

d.	How much the doctor involved you in 
decisions about your care?

e.	How well the doctor explained your
problems or any treatment you may need?

    We are interested in any other comments if you have selected poor.  
    Please write them here

10	At your consultation today, are you happy that the doctor answered all your questions?

Yes, all of them	Only some of them 		None of them

     
Yes	  No 	

	

 	  

Yes	  No 	

	

 	  

	       

11	Did you know:

	a. We have a website? 

 If yes, have you ever visited our website?
	
	b. You can order prescriptions online?

If yes, have you ever ordered prescriptions online?

We are interested in any other comments you may have. Please write them here.  
(For example our facilities, services etc.)

Are you interested in taking part in more surveys? If yes, please write your email below:

Appendix 2

GP Patient Survey Results January 2013

GP – All GPs – 290 responses

How long did you wait for your consultation to begin?

< 5mins	%	6-10mins	%	10-20mins	%	>20 mins	%	
84	34%	105	42%	43	17%	    18	7%	

Thinking about your consultation today, how do you rate the following?

	Poor	%	Good	%	V Gd	%	
How thoroughly the doctor asked about your symptoms and how you are feeling	3	1%	76	30%	178	69%	
How well the doctor listened to what you had to say	6	2%	64	23%	203	73%	
How well the doctor put you at ease during your physical examination	6	2%	71	26%	197	72%	
How much the doctor involved you in decisions about your care	5	2%	75	27%	199	71%	
How well the doctor explained your problems or any treatment you might need	3	1%	69	25%	203	74%	

If you scored anything poor, we would be interested to know why?

“didn’t understand what I was trying to say”

At your consultation today, are you happy that the doctor answered all your questions?

All of them	%	Some of them	%	None of them	    %	
210	    94%	10	4%	4	2%	

Appendix 3

Nurses Patient Survey Results January 2013

How long did you wait for your consultation to begin?

< 5mins	%	6-10mins	%	10-20mins	%	>20 mins	%	
56	62%	23	25%	10	11%	2	2%	

Thinking about your consultation today, how do you rate the following?

	Poor	%	Good	%	V Gd	%	
How thoroughly the nurse asked about your symptoms and how you are feeling			25	28%	65	72%	
How well the nurse listened to what you had to say			22	24%	70	76%	
How well the nurse put you at ease during your physical examination			19	19%	79	81%	
How much the nurse involved you in decisions about your care			25	27%	68	73%	
How well the nurse explained your problems or any treatment you might need			19	20%	74	80%	

If you scored anything poor, we would be interested to know why?

“very engaging, supporting human”

At your consultation today, are you happy that the nurse answered all your questions?

All of them	%	Some of them	%	None of them	    %	
84	100%