Patient Survey: How can Bovey & Chudleigh Practice improve service?

Chudleigh Practice

We have for many years gathered feedback to ensure we continue to deliver a high quality medical service.

Although there is still a high level of satisfaction in many of the scores and comments received the results are worse than in previous years and there were an increasing number of negative comments.

We take pride in the service we provide and are disappointed and concerned to receive these results despite implementing several changes last year.

We acknowledge that we need to address some issues around staff training and telephone access but we are concerned that many of the issues are a result of the increasing workload pressures being placed on primary care and inequitable funding which is bringing practices, both locally and nationally near to crisis point, and over which we have little control.

We are caring for an increasingly elderly population with multiple chronic illness and medical developments enable us to do more. Life expectancy in our practice is now 87, the highest in our locality. There has been a transfer of work from hospital into the community. The average number of consultations per patient has more than doubled in the last 10 years. This all places a huge increase in demand on our services but there has been no additional funding to increase our capacity - future funding is likely to fall.

Historically we have been highly efficient and provided high quality care, we are concerned that the latest results show that we are struggling to maintain our usual high standards.

We have had years of underfunding, despite efforts initiated by Devon PCT in 2011 to move towards equitable funding we still receive £10 less than the average £75 per patient per year.

NHS England has this week announced a review of contracts over the next two years with a view to a fairer distribution of funding. If this is addressed we would be able to provide a better service to our local population.

Public perception has been damaged by continual criticism and attacks on our professional reputation by the press and politicians. An expectation to see the doctor you want, whenever and for whatever you want is unrealistic and this is likely to affect our survey results.

Patients are least satisfied with seeing their practitioner of choice, seeing a practitioner within 48 hours, and telephone access to the practice.

Last year we increased our doctor sessions in the practice and ceased providing medical cover at Bovey Tracey Hospital reducing the use of locum doctors to improve patient continuity of care.

We expanded the use of telephone consultations and increased our reception team. We carried out a smaller in-house survey to look at our increasing telephone consultation service. 96% of the 101 patient’s surveyed rate the service as good, very good or excellent.

So what else can we do?