Patient survey results to be added to NHS Choices

Tags: GP GPs NHS Choices Quality website

07 Aug 2007

The Department of Health is to add patient survey results to GP practices’ listings on the primary care section of the NHS Choices website.

GPs will also be able to update their own surgery details on the site following criticism that the DH’s new flagship website contains out-of-date and inaccurate information on GP practices.

A spokesperson for NHS Choices told EHI Primary Care that the ability for GPs to update their surgery details and a new feature which will allow GPs to upload more personalised information will be ready later this year.

He added: “The two things which we are looking to rollout, which we hope will be very popular with GPs and surgeries generally, are the ability for GPs and practice managers to manage their own details on the site and what you might call a MySpace for GPs. GPs will have their own webspace where they can upload a picture and background information such as where and when they qualified plus any other information they want to add.”

At the moment primary care trusts are responsible for updating information on the site but the spokesperson said it was a huge task to keep a million pieces of information up-to-date.

Health secretary Alan Johnson announced that NHS Choices would be developed to include more data on primary care following the release of the results of the GP Patient Survey last month.

He said that while the survey showed many patients reported good services from their GP there were some “significant pockets of dissatisfaction” which a package of measures would tackle including changes to the NHS Choices site.

He added: “We will move quickly to provide patients with better information about their own and other GP practices through the NHS Choices website. This data will cover practice opening hours and the times GPs are available for appointments, results from the national patient survey, core indicators of patient experience (from the Quality and Outcomes Framework) and what extended services the practice offers. This will be an important first step in improving the information available to patients.”

A spokesperson for NHS Choices said consultation was currently being carried out with professional bodies ahead of the developments to the site later in the year.

Reader's Comments

Practice websites vs. a searchable database

mary.hawking@nhs.net

11 Aug 07 20:08

My understanding is that one of the features desired by the DH is a *searchable* database - so patients can look for such things as child health surveillance clinics and baby changing facilities.

The problem with allowing practices to insert a link to their website is that, although the patients would get a better, up to date view of their practice - or a practice with which they might like to register - it *wouldn't* be searchable.

I'm not sure how much this would matter to patients. Lots of research has shown that most patient choice is based on distance rather than advertisement...

Isn't it typical of the DH to expect scarce practice time to be diverted to maintaining their website rather than allowing links to the practice website?

*Trusts* have links - and precious little other information apart from whether there is an A&E department! Hint and Tip. Organisations listed as hospitals *without* an A&E may not be what a reasonable patient would consider to be a hospital - e.g. BPAS and the Marie Stppes vasectomy clinic.