GPs are putting patients at risk of harm by rushing them out of the door before they have time to discuss all of their issues, a damning survey suggests.
Only half (51 per cent) of UK adults said they were able to discuss ‘everything’ or ‘most things’ during their last appointment with a family doctor.
Most believe the standard 10 minute appointment is too short to meet the needs of an ageing population, which is increasingly living with multiple conditions.
The public is also fed up with the hoops they now have to jump through to see a GP and the long waits for care, according to the Ipsos poll of 1,094 adults.
Patient groups last night warned rushed appointments and the move to online booking systems are making older people ‘feel unwelcome in their surgery’.
Only half (51 per cent) of UK adults said they were able to discuss ‘everything’ or ‘most things’ during their last appointment with a family doctor (Stock Image)
It means many are giving up trying to see their GP and are now turning up at A&E or self-medicating, they add.
Studies have previously shown that the UK has the shortest GP consultation times in Europe, fuelled by a shortage of doctors.
Fewer than a quarter (24 per cent) of respondents to the new poll thought appointments should be ten minutes or less, with a third (34 per cent) wanting 15 minutes, a fifth (21 per cent) 20 minutes, and one in eight (12 per cent) 30 minutes. One in every 50 patients want an hour with their GP.
Only a fifth of people (21 per cent) said they were able to discuss ‘everything’ they wanted with their family doctor during their last appointment and 30 per cent ‘most things’.
More than a quarter (29 per cent) only had time to discus ‘some things’ and 10 per cent ‘hardly anything’.
The survey, conducted exclusively for the Daily Mail and Guardian, reveals the difficulties patients face securing an appointment and the complex processes surgeries make them go through to get one.
Little more than one in three patients (37 per cent) are confident they could get an appointment at a convenient time if they need one.
More than half (56 per cent) say their surgery should make it easier to get a face-to-face appointment, 53 per cent want shorter waiting times, and 52 per cent say the booking process should be improved, with 33 per cent wanting receptionists to pick up the phone faster.
When they do finally get through, 43 per cent find they have to tell the receptionist their issue before being graced with an in-person consultation with a GP, 22 per cent must fill in a form on their practice website and 16 per cent submit a request through the NHS app.
Many patients are giving up trying to see their GP and are now turning up at A&E or self-medicating (Stock Image)
When they do finally get through to a receptionist, 22 per cent must then fill in a form on their practice website and 16 per cent submit a request through the NHS app (Stock Image)
Almost a third of patients (31 per cent) say they can only get a face-to-face appointment after they have spoken to their doctor on the phone, who will then invite them in if considered necessary.
Almost one in five (19 per cent) say they have to see a member of staff who is not a GP as part of a triage process.
Overall, 27 per cent say they want their practice to offer a better quality of care and only 5 per cent say there are no areas for improvement at their GP practice.
Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, which campaigns for the over-60s, said: ‘This research bears out what Silver Voices members have been telling us for many months.
‘There are many wonderful GPs who take all the time that is necessary, even if it means extending their day.
‘However, an increasing number appear irritated and impatient if an older patient feels the need to explain their medical history to give context, and give the impression that they want them out the door as soon as possible.
‘The many barriers to access to GPs and a revolving door policy in some practices, makes older people feel unwelcome in the surgery.’
He added: ‘If the doctor is in too much haste to turn round an appointment, there is a great danger that only the immediate and obvious symptoms are dealt with.
‘Without reading the notes thoroughly and listening to the patient’s wider concerns, underlying more serious conditions can easily be missed.
‘Older patients continue to report that bureaucratic barriers to seeing a GP are being reinforced, with complex online forms the order of the day.
‘There appears to be no appreciation that younger patients’ app-driven world is totally alien to a large section of the population.
‘Older patients will often give up with the GP practice and either go to A&E or try to self-medicate.’
Older people find it harder to access a GP practice due to ‘bureaucratic barriers’ such as complex online forms (Stock Image)
Dennis Reed (pictured on GB news), director of Silver Voices, which campaigns for the over-60s, said: ‘This research bears out what Silver Voices members have been telling us for many months’
Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: ‘These latest stats from Ipsos show that simply accessing the GP surgery is a challenge for so many patients.
‘This is not acceptable – people’s mental and physical health is at risk of worsening if they can’t get support in a timely fashion.
‘Also, getting a GP appointment shouldn’t be some sort of test in persistence and digital skills.’
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said GPs share many of their patients’ frustrations exposed in this polling.
She added: ‘This study tallies closely with recent polling of our members which found 60 per cent of GPs felt that they did not have enough time to adequately assess and treat patients.
‘We want to be able to treat our patients holistically and talk through all their health concerns – but with the current workload and workforce pressures facing GPs and our teams, we’re struggling to give our patients the time they need and the time we want to spend with them.
‘Guaranteeing access to safe care is a priority for general practice teams and we don’t want any patients to feel discouraged by triaging processes that practices may have in place.
‘These will have been put in place with the best intentions.’
Professor Kamila Hawthorne (pictured), chair of the Royal College of GPs, said GPs share many of their patients’ frustrations exposed in this polling
Kate Duxbury, Ipsos UK Research Director, Health and Social Care, said: ‘We know that the public recognise that GP practices are under pressure, and this new polling shows the impact on Britons.’
An NHS England spokesperson said: ‘GP teams are working incredibly hard to see increasing numbers of patients and a recent survey found nine out of 10 patients said their needs were met at their last appointment, but these findings make clear there is more to do to improve patients’ satisfaction and experience in accessing primary care services.’
