Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the relationship between the length of time of GP patient consultation and patient satisfaction.

Dr Daniel Poulter

Overall patient satisfaction is driven by a range of factors, including accessing general practitioner (GP) appointments at a convenient time, the ability to see a preferred GP and the quality of the conversation with the GP.

Data is not held centrally on the average length of a GP appointment, and we are not aware of any formal assessment being made of the relationship between the length of time of a GP patient consultation and patient satisfaction.

However, the GP Patient Survey includes the following question:

“Last time you saw or spoke to a GP from your GP surgery, how good was that GP at each of the following?

– Giving you enough time

– Listening to you

– Explaining tests and treatments

– Involving you in decisions about your care

– Treating you with care and concern”

In the most recent GP Patient Survey, published in December 2013, 85.8% of respondents said that their GP was either ‘very good’ or ‘good’ at giving them enough time.