Five-year high for patient satisfaction with general practice

The Royal College of GPs responds to the new NHS England figures showing that patient satisfaction with general practice has reached its highest level in five years, with more than three quarters of patients rating their overall experience of their GP practice as good.

Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown, President of the Royal College of GPs, said: “We are very pleased to see that patient satisfaction with general practice is continuing to improve.

"These latest figures are a testament to the hard work, professionalism and commitment of GPs and our teams, who are delivering millions of appointments every month while managing rising demand, increasing complexity and ongoing workforce pressures.

"General practice is the front door to the NHS, and it is encouraging to see improvements in patients' experience alongside greater use of online services and other ways of accessing care. Used appropriately, digital tools can give patients more choice and convenience, but they should complement, not replace, high-quality, personalised care and continuity of care where this is most needed.

"We want to see patient satisfaction continue to improve. That will require sustained investment in general practice, an expanded GP workforce and support for practices to meet the growing and increasingly complex needs of their communities. General practice delivers outstanding value for the NHS, and investing in it is one of the most effective ways to improve care for patients."

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659

press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.