Three-quarters of public have positive GP experience

Three-quarters (73.6%) of people find contacting their GP as a good or very good experience, according to a new survey.

(c) Hush Naidoo Jade Photography/Unsplash

(c) Hush Naidoo Jade Photography/Unsplash

The ONS statistics also revealed nine out of 10 adults were satisfied or very satisfied with the NHS dentist and with services at their NHS pharmacy.

GPs

Over nine in 10 (95.6%) who contacted their GP were successful with 77.5% making contact the same day.

Just under half (45%) contacted their GP by telephone, although one in 10 (11%) found the process difficult.

People contacting their GP using online systems or in person were most likely to find the experience easy, 78.2% and 74.6%, respectively.

Older people were more likely to describe their experience as very good or good (78.8%) with 67.9% of 16 to 24 year olds agreeing.

Eight in 10 (82.4%) of people given an appointment or call back were given a face-to-face appointment or asked if they wanted one. People in the South East were least likely to be given a face-to-face appointment or asked if they wanted one.

Over one-third (35.5%) given a face-to-face appointment had a preferred healthcare professional, with women more likely to say this than men (38.9% versus 30.4%).

People with a long-term health condition were more likely to have a preferred healthcare professional than those without (57.8% versus 29.9%).

Almost two-thirds (62.5%) were able to see their preferred healthcare professional.

Dentists

Just over half (53.2%) of adults reported having an NHS dentist with a third (35.6%) having a private dentist and one in 10 (10.9%) having none.

Males were more likely not to have a dentist (12.9%) than females (9.0%) with adults in the South West and South East most likely to have a private dentist.

Nine out of 10 (89.5%) adults with an NHS dentist were very satisfied or satisfied with their experience.

Eight in 10 (79.5%) who did not have a dentist but who tried to make an appointment were successful.

Pharmacies

Over half (53.8%) of adults reported using NHS services from a pharmacy with 89.5%  being very satisfied or satisfied with their service, however one in 10 (11.4%) had a problem getting their prescription.

Females, older adults, and those with a long-term health condition were significantly more likely to report using NHS services from a pharmacy several times a month.

Levels of satisfaction for all primary care services tended to be higher among the older age groups, those living in the least deprived areas and those without a long-term health condition.

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