Further information on the GP Patient Survey – Frequently Asked Questions
You may have some questions about the GP Patient Survey and this results website for the 2008/09 survey; please find below some information on various aspects of the survey and how to access the results.
This page will provide you with answers to a number of frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to the GP Patient Survey. When you click on a question topic, the page will automatically scroll down to the corresponding answer. At any time you can click the link underneath your chosen FAQ to return to the contents at the top of the page.
For further information on the GP Patient Survey please visit the survey website by clicking here.
Why is this survey taking place?
The GP Patient Survey is part of the Government’s commitment to make the NHS more responsive to patients’ needs. The survey asks patients about a range of issues, such as how easy or difficult it is for patients to make an appointment at their surgery, satisfaction with opening hours, the quality of care received from their GP and practice nurses, amongst other things.
The Department of Health has set some standards for how easy it should be for people to book an appointment with their doctor. The survey measures how well GP surgeries are at meeting these standards and therefore helping surgeries and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) understand where improvements are needed. This survey is an opportunity for patients to have their say about how well their practice is doing at providing these services to patients.
Back to top
How were patients selected to take part?
The Department of Health selected names randomly from the NHS list of patients registered with a GP for a minimum of six months. Ipsos MORI keeps these contact details confidential and, once the survey is completed, they are securely destroyed. Ipsos MORI was not provided with any clinical information about patients’ health or consultations.
Back to top
How many patients have taken part?
About five and a half million adult patients registered with a GP in England were randomly selected for the 2008/09 survey so roughly one in eight adults were sent a questionnaire to complete. Questionnaires were sent in the first half of January 2009. Each practice has a different number of people selected to take part, depending on a number of factors including the size of the surgery. Over two million patients returned their completed questionnaire and are included in the results.
Back to top
When did the 2008/09 survey happen?
Patients were sent questionnaires in the week commencing 5 January 2009, with reminders sent out in February and March. The closing date for completed surveys was 13 April 2009.
Surveys returned after this date were not included in the results. The national results were published on 30 June 2009 via the survey website www.gp-patient.co.uk.
Back to top
Who designed the questionnaire?
The core of this questionnaire was developed by Ipsos MORI in conjunction with the Peninsula Medical School and the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre at the University of Manchester.
Ipsos MORI subjected the questionnaire to a process of cognitive testing to ensure the questions were understood as clearly as possible. A pilot survey was also conducted in October/ November 2008 in order to further test the questionnaire and response process.
Back to top
How does the survey comply with requirements for patient confidentiality?
Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) have lawful access to patient details through their legal obligations to maintain registers of patients at each practice. Given that the survey is used to determine patients' experiences of access to their GPs, which in turn determines payment made to practices, there are legitimate purposes for the survey to be conducted.
As there is no disclosure of confidential clinical information involved, there is no breach of confidentiality.
No personal information is accessible through the GPPS results website.
Back to top
How is my doctor involved in this survey?
The GP Patient Survey is being conducted as part of the current arrangements for contracts between the Department of Health and GP practices. The questionnaire was sent to a random selection of people who are registered with a GP in England. GP practices were informed about the survey in advance. They will have access to the anonymised, statistical results for their practice, but will not have access to individual answers. No one outside of the Ipsos MORI GP Patient Survey team will know who questionnaires have been sent to or returned by.
Back to top
What precautions for data protection/confidentiality have been taken?
Ipsos MORI, the administrators of the survey, strictly adheres to the Market Research Society Code of Conduct and the Data Protection Act, and uses all personal information in a responsible and secure manner. Stringent measures have been taken to ensure personal data is securely stored and seen only by the personnel directly involved in the project. Once the survey is completed, Ipsos MORI will destroy all such data securely.
Back to top
Has the survey received ethical approval?
Before starting the first survey in 2007 Ipsos MORI consulted the Central Office for Research Ethics Committee (COREC) and were advised that this survey may not be considered as ‘pure research’ but as ‘service evaluation’ – to evaluate the service provided by GPs to their patients in terms of ease of booking an appointment. Hence this survey does not require formal medical research ethical approval. However, Ipsos MORI strictly adheres to the Market Research Society code of research ethics and patient details are not available to be used for anything other than the purpose of this survey.
Back to top
Will practices get a copy of the resulting statistical analysis?
Each practice will have access to its own results via this website – and individual Primary Care Trusts will have access to the results of all the GP practices in their area.
Back to top
Where can I learn about the results of my local area/practice for the 2008/09 survey?
View the results of specific practices via this page.
Back to top
What were the 2007/2008 survey results?
The GP Patient Survey is the largest ever survey of NHS patients. The results of the 2007 and 2008 GP Patient Survey have been published and are available online. To view the results, please click here.
Please note that due to changes in question wording, the 2007 and 2008 survey results are not comparable with the 2008/09 survey.
Back to top
Where can I view the most recent results of the survey?
To view the most recent results and reports of the GP Patient Survey from the 2009/10 survey, please click here.
Please note that due to changes in question wording, the 2007 and 2008 survey results are not comparable with the latest survey.
Back to top
What is the care planning report? / What is care planning?
The Department of Health has stated that every person with a long term medical condition should be offered a personalised care plan, developed, agreed and regularly reviewed with a named health professional. The survey aims to find out about qualitative aspects of care planning for these patients.
Back to top
Why have you not provided the data on out of hours by provider?
This is the first time that we have asked questions on out of hours as part of the GP Patient Survey. We are currently working to cross reference the data by provider and will publish this as soon as it is available.
Back to top