Scottish GP Patient Experience Survey 2009/10, Volume 3: Findings from the Analysis of Patient Comments

9 Overall experience and other issues

9.1 'Overall' is the group of comments which did not have a specific subject but rather gave a more general expression of patients' experiences and the treatment they received at their GP surgery.

9.2 As the second largest group of comments, (10,851, 26 per cent of all comments), 'overall' covered a wide range of positive and negative experiences. However, the comments were overwhelmingly positive.

9.3 This is strongly supported by the findings from the national report which showed that nine out of ten patients rated the overall care provided by their GP surgery as good or excellent and only two per cent rating it as poor or very poor.

9.4 Within the group of positive comments, the themes identified were:

• lots of very general comments expressing satisfaction and praise for the surgery as a whole; holistic approach to care
• length of time patient has been with practice as a reflection of how good the surgery was;
• comparisons between a previous surgery and their current one - saying that current surgery is better.

9.5 Within the group of negative comments the recurring themes were difficult to define, but have been split as follows:

• general negativity - short comments that did not provide details;
• longer comments which detailed specific events and/or situations which make their experience of the surgery negative.

9.6 The 'Overall' category comprises overwhelmingly of positive comments. In most cases the comments were short which were often very general positive statements for example:

"All very good.", "No complaints", "Fine"

9.7 There were also some comments which did not really give much in the way of actual feedback, rather the patient said how many years they had been at the surgery in order to express their satisfaction.

"I have been with the same practice since X. I am X years of age that speaks for itself."

9.8 Similar to these comments were ones which mentioned the patient's old surgery in a comparative manner.

"I moved to this surgery about 8 years and the difference between my old surgery is second to none (excellent)."

9.9 There were a large number of positive comments which commended the holistic approach taken by staff at the GP surgery.

"The service provided is exemplary. My whole family are cared for and have confidence in the practice. My wife has been with the health service for over X years…... She feels that this is the best practice she has seen. It is a perfect combination of action and empathy - a true holistic health service."

9.10 Like the positive comments, a large number of the negative comments in the 'Overall' group were also very short and general, such as;

"Overall could be better":

9.11 However, there were some longer comments which were more specific. A number of them covered a range of themes about a GP surgery. Where possible we have tried to cover the main themes identified by them. However many of them were stories specific to their author and the GP surgery attended.

Other issues

9.12 Within the comments there was a small minority which raised other issues which were not covered specifically by the survey. These issues are ones surrounding diversity, discrimination and, as previously mentioned, mental health.

9.13 Most of the comments relating to discrimination concerned two types of issues. In the first type patients expressed a view that they felt discriminated against due to their personal circumstances, for example sexuality, race or mental health. The second type was where people expressed discriminatory remarks about other groups of patients. An example of this was where comments were made about perception of preferential treatment for certain groups of patients, such as drug users or patients from minority ethnic groups.

Summary

9.14 Overall' was the second biggest thematic group, representing 26 per cent of all comments. The overwhelming majority of comments in were positive and were simply general praise. This is reflected in the findings from the national report which showed that nine out of ten patients rated the overall care provided by their GP surgery as good or excellent.