This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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NHS Public Attitudes Survey
21/11/2004
An independent NOP survey of patient and public
attitudes has found that 90 per cent of NHS Scotland
patients were 'very or fairly satisfied' with the service
they received.
In the survey, new ways of working, using nurses to
deliver more care instead of GPs, and more advice by
telephone, proved popular.
But what patients wanted was more choice, more
convenience, less waiting, more information and a greater
say in their NHS.
Health Minister Andy Kerr said he would be taking the
findings up with NHS Chairs as a matter of priority, and
accelerating the rollout of new patient-focused booking
schemes.
Mr Kerr added:
"I am pleased that the NHS is held in such high regard
by the people it serves. But this also shows the need to
accelerate new ways of working to make improvements.
"We have still got a lot of work to tackle waiting
times, especially for out-patients.
"That means asking patients what time suits them best
for an appointment, ensuring they see the clinician they
need to see rather than being passed around, and having
systems that actually serve patients - not outdated
practices.
"That's why I will accelerate the rollout of our
patient-focused booking initiative to include more
outpatient appointments.
"But there's also a real issue in that people don't feel
they have a say in their NHS.
"We want the NHS to treat patients as partners in the
provision of healthcare. To ask for the views and
experiences of patients, their carers and the local
communities and put this into action when designing and
planning services.
"It is the needs and preferences of patients which must
drive the development of the future NHS, not out-dated
commitments to particular ways of organising. We need to
modernise, not fossilise.
"I will be instructing NHS chairs to take these findings
on involvement, patient choice and better information
forward as a matter of priority when I meet them on 29
November."
Findings of the study include:
- High levels of patient satisfaction (90 percent
very or fairly satisfied). The highest combined score
was 93 per cent for contact with practice nurses and
with patients' own GP. The lowest was 86 per cent for
outpatient services. No more than 10 per cent of users
were actually dissatisfied with any one service
- Satisfaction ratings are at least as high as those
found in a survey carried out in 2000 and significantly
higher for primary care and inpatient services. Those
'very satisfied' with GP or practice nurse contact rose
from 54 per cent to 62 per cent. Those 'very satisfied'
with inpatient services rose from 50 per cent to 62 per
cent
- The use of nurses instead of GPs and other
professionals to provide more contact with patients is
popular
- When patients could get through to receive
telephone advice, this proved as popular as other forms
of contact, with 91 per cent very or fairly satisfied.
However, patients wanted improvements in having someone
available to call them back at convenient times (over
40 per cent of users) and almost as many people wanted
it made easier to get through to the health
professional in question
- Three quarters of the overall sample said that
members of the public have little or no influence over
the way that the NHS is run - but 86 per cent of people
thought that the public should have at least some say
over the running of the health service
- Significant numbers wanted to see faster test
results and improved communication, such as better
information about treatment, more useful information
and encouragement to ask questions
- Awareness of patient choice initiatives such as
having a choice of where to be seen, the ability to a
see a specialist at a local surgery and having a choice
of appointment times was low
- Other concerns over aspects of access to services
included a desire for better public transport links and
more car parking
Public
Attitudes to the National Health Service in Scotland
was carried out by Nickie Rose and Richard Glendinning of
NOP, with Roy Carr-Hill of the University of York.
The survey involved 2,600 telephone interviews between
March and April 2004 with a representative sample of the
adult population aged 16 and over from all parts of
Scotland.
Satisfaction ratings.
Percentage who were very or fairly satisfied, by
service:
- Practice Nurse - 93
- Own GP - 93
- Telephone consultation - 91
- Home visit - 91
- Another GP - 90
- Inpatient - 90
- Out of Hours - 88
- Outpatient - 86