Signs of improvement in general practice but inequalities still persist

Responding to the GP patient survey results, Nuffield Trust Director of Research and Policy Dr Becks Fisher said:

“After years of decline, it is encouraging that we’re starting to see the first signs of improvement in overall experience of GP practices. The government has promised to ‘end the 8am scramble’ for GP appointments and has already taken some steps to get general practice back on track. While we’re yet to feel the full effects of these measures, things are moving in the right direction. Continuing to boost the number of GPs will be crucial to sustaining advances in patient satisfaction.

“However, poorer people and people from some minoritised ethnic groups are still reporting worse experience with their GP practices. We hope that government plans to review the unfair GP funding formula which disadvantages the poorest areas will eventually start to make a difference to this.

“It’s good that people’s experience of NHS dental services has improved slightly, but we know that the wider problem facing the public is with actually getting access to an NHS dentist in the first place, with widespread dental “deserts” across the country.”