Survey shows Suffolk patients happy with our service

A snap-shot survey of the Suffolk GP Out of Hours Service, carried out by a patient watchdog, has shown a high level of patient satisfaction with complaints falling. 

The survey was conducted by the Suffolk LINk (local involvement network) and backed up what the watchdog's Board member, Anne Nicholls, says she hears from patients on a day-to-day basis – the service is improving all the time.

The Out of Hours service has been run since April 2010 by Harmoni when NHS Suffolk commissioned the company to run GP and dental out of hours services across the county.

Anne said: "I have been monitoring out of hours care in Suffolk since 2004 when GP contracts were changed so that they were no longer directly responsible for their patients' treatment out of normal surgery hours. I carry out a snap-shot survey once every three months, always on a Saturday, when every person who uses the service is sent a questionnaire seeking their level of satisfaction of the service.

 "The latest survey saw 800 questionnaires sent out, generating a 47 per cent response. The majority were satisfied with the service. We still see some complaints about response times and delays in arranging a clinic appointment or GP home visit but the number of complaints is definitely falling. Some of the complainants were actually seen within the laid-down time-scales which demonstrates how high patients' expectations have become. It should also be noted that the national standard for a routine GP home visit out of hours is six hours but in Suffolk, the local agreement between NSH Suffolk and Harmoni is four hours.

 "We will continue to closely monitor Harmoni's performance but the trend is certainly positive in terms of levels of patient satisfaction."

Zoe Pursglove, Harmoni's Regional Relationship Manager, said: "We are very pleased to hear that the survey carried out by Suffolk LINk reflects our own customer satisfaction surveys. We are not so naive to think the system works perfectly all the time but we believe the vast majority of people who use the service are satisfied with the care and treatment they receive and we will continue to work to make it ever better."