9 in 10 Patients recommend us, and responses to your feedback
Last month, 150 patients said their experience was very good, with another 24 scoring it as good.
That adds up to a recommendation rate of 89.69%.
The data is from the NHS Friends and Family test, which asks patients how they would rate their most recent experience.
Here are the figures in full:
| Rating | Patients | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Very Good | 150 | 77.32% |
| Good | 24 | 12.37% |
| Neither Good nor Poor | 6 | 3.09% |
| Poor | 6 | 3.61% |
| Very Poor | 6 | 3.09% |
| Don’t Know | 1 | 0.52% |
| Total | 194 | 100% |
Your Comments and our Responses
Rather than just share quotes from your feedback, we thought it might be worth adding a response to some of them to highlight, clear up or explain some situations.
“Amazing system and super quick response!! It saves patients lots of time rather than filling up face-to-face slots.”
A big reason for using this system is the easy access and quick resolutions. By dealing with issues remotely when we can, we can make sure that you can be seen in person when needed.
“Used the new system for the first time. Easy to navigate. Prompt telephone response and sound advice.“
While we deal with hundreds of requests daily, we know everyone will send a request through askmyGP for the first time. We use askmyGP because it cuts down the steps you need to go through, and lets you describe your issue in your own words.
“System works really well for someone like me who doesn’t work locally to the GP surgery. This issue wasn’t an urgent problem and didn’t need me taking up an appointment. The Doctor responding through the message function was ideal and saved both of us some time, I am sure.“
This is another benefit of askmyGP. For lots of patients, they can get their issues resolved by a Doctor without needing to fit an unexpected trip to the practice into their daily schedule.
“First time user and GP responded swiftly. Many thanks. I have given a poor rating for service ONLY because I was unaware of the changed system.”
We are glad the system worked well. JHP has been using askmyGP since 2020, and the system was introduced to patients registered at Gosforth Memorial when practices merged in April.
The news articles, resources and guides, and FAQs available on both sites offer information and step-by-step instructions. If there is additional information that would be useful, please let us know.
“I needed a repeat prescription and I spent over 20 minutes trying to find “repeat prescription” on your Ask my GP site.“
When you’ve clicked through to askmyGP:
- Click New Request
- Choose Order a Repeat Prescription
You can also quickly and easily send prescriptions through the NHS App.
The NHS App service is available 24/7.
“My only query is why one seemingly can’t leave a message when out of hours. Doing so is convenient, and personally I understand that you will get back when you can.”
There are a couple of reasons why requests can’t be submitted outside of our opening times.
Firstly, patient safety. We need to ensure anyone with a serious or life-threatening issue is directed to the right place the first time, regardless of whether we are open. Receiving requests when we are closed means a message from a patients with serious symptoms could remain unseen – possibly for days if there are weekends and bank holidays. This could put a patient at considerable risk.
Secondly, and we’ll discuss this more in our next response, is the quantity of requests. All requests are triaged so we can prioritise people with the greatest need.
Receiving requests when we are closed leads to backlogs, more time spent triaging requests than dealing with them, and longer waits for everyone.
“Having urgent only for Five working days is not really providing a service.”
This is an issue of capacity and safety.
Currently, we ask people to submit only urgent requests after 2 pm. This is so our Doctors can see everyone who needs to be seen face-to-face that day.
At other times, we might ask for urgent requests only. If demand is especially high, we have staff shortages – or both.
This is to make sure patients with the biggest need are helped, and to keep the workload manageable and safe for our team.
In March this year, we wrote a news article about the pressures on General Practice, and how all practices are stretched and trying to do more with less.
You might remember we said that patients registered with GP practices had gone from 56.9 million in 2015 to 63.1 million in January this year. That figure is now over 63.5 million.
In the summer, we also shared an update about the BMA’s “GPs are on your side” campaign, alongside the announcement of collective action.
The situation now is no different to when we first shared those updates.
To repeat what we said in March: We know getting the help you need when you’re unwell can be stressful, and we understand patients’ frustration. Please know that we share those frustrations and are committed to getting you the best possible care.