GP Access Report

Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin wanted to give every person the opportunity to have their voice heard regarding their experiences of accessing their GP. People certainly did that with hundreds of responses coming in weekly. Many people have expressed frustration when it comes to their experiences of trying to access primary care.

For many people, their views are informed by what they consider to be poor experiences. There is a danger that given the high levels of dissatisfaction that this report could have become an angry response focusing on negativity. We have tried to present a balanced view based on everyone’s views including experiences which are positive.

Reassuringly once people have actually got to the appointment their experience becomes more positive in the support, care and treatment they receive from primary care team members of different roles. Although for some this is not always the case.

The people of Telford and Wrekin have very clearly spoken with more than 9,000 people sharing their views with Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin.

Many people have expressed their frustration when it comes to their experiences of trying to access primary care, be that in its simplest form of trying to visit their surgery and speak to the reception team, but being denied this and told to phone instead, through to people trying to use online services and commenting why bother as there are never any appointments there, or the effort to actually get through to surgery by phone.

The Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin Team have created a balanced report representing peoples views as they have told us, their truths. Our overwhelming focus has been on seeing how the system can learn from the thousands of peoples own truths ways in which the access could be improved and this will be our future focus.

Our report will be considered by the Telford and Wrekin Health and Wellbeing Board in the coming weeks, to which we have a mandatory seat on. We will be working with all partners that make up the local integrated health and care system to seek a system response and solutions to enhance peoples experiences of accessing their GPs.

In our GP Access report we have committed to working with each GP surgery, as well as the wider system, once we have published individual surgery reports. We do not wish to simply publish this report and sensationalise peoples negative experience but turn this whole in-depth piece of work in a positive force for change and improvement and we commit to that.