The results of the latest GP patient survey has seen the Bath and North East Somerset area score highly. Only one other CCG in the country scored higher than B&NES for overall patient experience.
A total of 3,139 people in B&NES took part in the survey in the spring and summer of 2015, with almost 850,000 people taking part nationally.
Among B&NES respondents, 92% said that they had good experiences at their GP practice, compared with a national average of 85%.
Almost two-thirds of people felt that they didn’t have to wait too long for a GP appointment and nearly all (95 %) reported being able to book an appointment at a convenient time.
This figure could be even higher next year after the introduction of Patient Partner – the 24-hour phone booking system available in B&NES since November 2015.
“These results are a well-deserved recognition of the high quality of care provided by our local practices,” said Dr Ruth Grabham, the Medical Director of B&NES CCG.
“This really highlights B&NES GP’s commitment to ensuring patients have a great experience of primary care.”
She added that the target now is to “maintain this level of performance when we are faced with ever-increasing demands on GPs’ time, fewer new recruits and many local GPs approaching retirement.”
The survey records that patients in B&NES also trust and have high levels of confidence in local doctors, with 95% saying they trusted the GP they saw at their last visit.
Most people are also very happy with how easy it is to get through to someone at their GP surgery on the telephone, with 90 per cent saying that they could see or speak to a GP or nurse when they wanted to. All of these figures are higher than the national averages.
Locally, GP surgeries are becoming very full, with Hope House Surgery in Radstock looking to expand due to the extra number of houses being built in the town. With increased housing development bringing in more residents, this will only add to pressures on local practitioners.