Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the results of a survey on behalf of Monitor, which found that one in ten people are dissatisfied with their general practitioner surgery.

On 1 June 2015, Monitor published Improving GP Services: Commissioners and Patient Choice, which included the findings of a nationally representative survey conducted by Ipsos Mori.

The report noted a high level of satisfaction with general practice overall. It found that 81% of patients were satisfied with their general practitioner (GP) practice, while only 10% were dissatisfied.

Monitor’s report found that, after location, patients most value the ease of getting an appointment when choosing a GP practice. In order to improve access for patients, the Government has invested £175 million over two years through the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund. This is testing improved and innovative access to GP services through longer opening hours, such as at evenings and weekends, but also different ways of accessing services, for example the use of Skype consultations. Altogether, there are now 57 schemes covering over 2,500 practices, meaning that over 18 million patients are expected to benefit from improved access and transformational change at local level by March 2016.

Additionally, the Primary Care Infrastructure Fund is investing £1 billion, including £25 million as part of the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund, over four years to improve premises and information technology, which will also improve access.