Practice nurses receive “very positive” feedback from patients in the latest GP Patient Survey.
The poll received around 38,000 responses from patients and was carried out by Ipsos MORI for NHS England.
Related Article: Community nurses call for more ‘GP back-up’ in palliative care decisions
Nearly eight-in-10 patients (79%) reported that their practice nurse gave them enough time at their last appointment, and 78% of the patients said the nurse was good at listening.
This comes after nursing was temporarily added to the shortage occupation list in October, and Peter Carter, the previous chief executive and general secretary of the RCN said if there’s one thing politicians have to focus on more than any other it’s the recruitment crisis “gripping” the NHS.
The nurses also proved to be compassionate and informative, as 77% said their nurse treated them “with care and concern”, 76% said they explained any tests or treatments, and 65% said the nurse involved them in decisions about their care.
Moreover, “the majority of patients (84.5%) have trust and confidence in the nurse they saw, while just 2.5% say the opposite.
Related Article: All GP practices to be trained in supporting veterans in £1.8m programme
The survey also revealed:
· The majority of patients are satisfied with their GP surgery’s opening hours (74.8%) while over a third are ‘very’ satisfied (34.7%).
Related Article: Action needed on ‘damaging’ school nurse decline to help tackle STI rise
· The majority of patients (84.9%) have had a good overall experience of their GP surgery, with 42% describing it as ‘very’ good.
· Three-in-five patients are happy with the length of time they have to wait to be seen.
