90 per cent of Shropshire patients happy with their GP

Nearly 30,000 people in Shropshire and Staffordshire responded to the GP Patient Survey, which is run twice a year by NHS England.

It revealed 88 per cent of patients who responded in the two counties said their overall experience of GP services was good.

In addition, 93 per cent of patients said they were given an appointment at a time that was convenient to them.

Around three-quarters said it was very easy or fairly easy to get through to someone at their GP surgery.

Nine out of 10 patients who responded said receptionists were very helpful or fairly helpful at their surgery.

The survey also revealed that despite technological advances, 91 per cent of people still booked their appointments over the phone compared to just one in 20 online.

But one in three of those who responded said they would like to be able to book appointments over the internet in the future.

More than half still had a preferred GP at their surgery, with two thirds able to see that doctor always or almost always, or a lot of the time.

There were 75,000 forms distributed in Shropshire and Staffordshire by IPSOS Mori, with 28,344 responses at a rate of 38 per cent.

The independent survey is sent to more than a million people across the UK twice a year and is run by Ipsos on behalf of NHS England.

Rebecca Woods, head of Primary Care for NHS England in Shropshire and Staffordshire, said: "We would like to thank all our patients who responded to the survey.

"Their answers help us understand what we are doing right and where improvements can be made.

"We are delighted that 88 per cent of patients said their overall experience was good which is thanks to the hard work and dedication of staff working in GP services.

"We would encourage people to respond to future surveys to ensure we continue to commission excellent care that meets the needs of patients."

The annual survey is designed to give patients the opportunity to comment on their experience of their GP practice and covers a range of issues such as how easy or difficult it is for patients to make an appointment at their surgery, satisfaction with opening hours and the quality of care received from their GP and practice nurses.

Replies to the survey help surgeries understand where improvements are needed.

To view the survey visit http://gp-patient.co.uk/