Report: People's experience of GP services in Sutton

The survey's key findings were:

• 1 in 4 respondents found it hard to contact their surgery, of whom half couldn't contact at all.
• People with childcare and work commitments found it difficult to be available at the right time of day to contact their surgery.
• 72% of respondents who contacted their surgery were satisfied with the outcome they received.
• 86% of respondents who attended an appointment thought it went well.

Based on the survey's results, Healthwatch Sutton has the following recommendations for GP surgeries and other healthcare organisations in Sutton:

• Enable people to book surgery appointments for the future, rather than only on the day.
• Enable people to send appointment requests and other communication to their surgery throughout the day, including outside of working hours.
• Enable more people to contact their surgery and book appointments through the NHS app.
• Maintain the three ways of contacting the surgery and booking appointments: phone call, online/app and in person.
• Emphasise to patients that their surgery participates in the Sunflower Scheme for Hidden Disabilities. Participation includes accepting the preferences of people with a disability for how they contact their surgery.
• For people who find it difficult to use digital tools, accept their preference for contacting their surgery another way.
• Surgeries could consider publishing data showing the average waiting time in their telephone queue, the number of appointments they are delivering, the proportion of these which are face to face, and the proportion which patients did not attend. (This is to give people accurate information about appointment availability in Sutton).

Healthwatch Sutton will now meet with Sutton Council and NHS staff in October and November to make these recommendations.