Scottish Patient Experience Survey of GP and Local NHS Services 2011/12 Volume 3: Variation in the Experiences of Primary Care Patients

8 Detailed Findings - Deprivation

8.1 Respondents were assigned to Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation³ quintiles using their postcode. The SIMD quintile that respondents lived in is shown in Table 6.

Table 6 Respondents by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation quintile

8.2 There were 18,199 (13%) respondents resident in the most deprived 15% of datazones.

8.3 The SIMD quintile that the respondent lived in had a weak effect for 15 of the 39 questions. People living in the most deprived quintiles (1 and 2) had more positive experiences compared to those in the least deprived quintile. As with our analysis, other studies have found that the association with personal socio-economic deprivation and experience is generally small and inconsistent (e.g. Campbell et al 2001a, Kontopantelis et al 2010 and Lyratzopoulos et al 2012).

8.4 In Paragraph 16.12 we look at the percentage of the practice list from deprived areas and the effect this had on experiences. The results above should be considered in conjunction with the analysis presented in Paragraph 16.12. Here we found that people reported less positive experiences as the percentage of people on their practice list living in the most deprived 15% of datazones increased. A possible explanation is that people from deprived areas may place more demand on services which makes it more difficult for the practice to meet the needs of their patients.