Two-thirds Of UK Patients Do Not Mind Which Doctor They See If They Can Get A Convenient Appointment, Says Which?

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 06 Jul 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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Around two in three patients (65 per cent) don't mind which doctor they see if they can get a convenient appointment, according to new Which? research. 67 per cent of patients would be happy to see any doctor if they could easily access their medical records.

Although 69 per cent of patients say they would prefer to visit the same doctor each time,

only around half of people (52 per cent) who had seen a GP in the last year had seen the same doctor for their last three visits.

The research was carried out by Which? to add a patient voice to the current debate around the value of GP-led health centres, also known as polyclinics, proposed as part of Lord Darzi's review of the NHS.

Those who prefer seeing the same doctor are also prepared to compromise. More than half of them (56 per cent) don't mind seeing another doctor for convenience and six in ten (60 per cent) would be happy, so long as the medical records are accessible.

The most common reason given by people who didn't get to see the same doctor was that it was the norm (32 per cent). The second was to get a quicker or more convenient appointment (29%). Miranda Watson, Campaign Manager, Which? said:

"Our research highlights that while seeing the same doctor is important, when people simply don't have time to plan ahead or take any time off work, other considerations such as getting an appointment quickly and at a convenient time become more important. The Government needs to ensure that any new provisions reflect the needs and varying priorities of patients depending on their age, area and circumstance**.

*The survey was conducted using a face to face omnibus service from 28 May - 1 June 2008. A nationally representative sample of 1,791 adults aged 16+ in England were interviewed at home. Of these, 1,772 were registered with a GP and 1,476 had visited a GP within the last year.

**The research also found that older patients are more likely to want to see the same doctor (75% of those aged 55+ said they would prefer to always see the same doctor compared with 66% of under 55s), whereas younger patients and full-time workers attach more value to convenience. (67% under 55s and 68% of full-time workers said that they don't mind which doctor they see if they get a convenient appointment, compared with 59% aged 65+ and 63% of those not working full-time).

Which? is the leading independent consumer champion in the UK, providing up to date, impartial, expert information on thousands of products and services to help make individuals as powerful as the organisations they have to deal with in their daily lives. To find out more visit http://www.which.co.uk