WIREDGOV

The National Audit Office (NAO) report ‘Stocktake of access to general practice in England’ published recently shows that patient satisfaction with access to primary care continues to fall.

Whilst patient experience of General Practice remains positive, a fifth of patients report that opening hours are not convenient for them. 

The report also highlights that there is a great deal of variation in access to GP services. The NAO warns that services will continue to be stretched as demand for primary care services increase. 

Katherine Murphy, Chief Executive of the Patients Association said: 

“The findings of the National Audit Office (NAO) report only confirms what we hear from patients regularly on our National Helpline. Patients do not have good enough access to primary healthcare. The report highlights how for many younger patients, GP opening times are inconvenient. We need an NHS that understands that people have jobs and families to take care of. Much more must be done to ensure that they have access to GPs, particularly in the evenings and at the weekend. 

The variation in care highlighted in this report is unacceptable for patients. A patient living in a deprived area should have the same access to their GP as anybody else. Funding and support needs to reflect the population, demographic and local costs of an area. 

The Patients Association continues to support the Government’s plan to implement a truly seven-day service. Demand for services continues to grow, and the Government must ensure that there is the necessary funding to give patients more access to their GPs. This means that we need to train more GPs. Having 12% of GP training places unfilled each year is unsustainable. The Patients Association calls for funding and support for primary care that will protect patient safety in the long term.”

View report:

https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Stocktake-of-access-to-general-practice-in-England.pdf

Notes for Editors

The Patients Association is an independent national health and social care charity established over 52 years ago, and has a long history of campaigning to ensure that the voice of patients is heard within the Health and Social care system. 

For further information please contact the Patients Association on 020 8423 9111 alternatively you can call 07779 004898.

You can also visit us on our website at www.patients-association.org.uk 

You can also view our All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Patient Safety at http://www.patientsassociation.org.uk/policy-campaigns/all-party-parliamentary-group-patient-safety/