THE surgery deemed the best in the area by patients has opened up to the Journal about its success, as well as issues of Covid-19, staffing and appointment times.
The GP Patient Survey results for 2022 were revealed earlier this month, and Tisbury Surgery topped the charts locally.
What is the GP Patient Survey
Participants of the 2022 survey were asked to rate everything to do with their GP practice, from their experience at reception to the appointment itself, from level of care to overall satisfaction.
Around 98 per cent of Tisbury Surgery patients, that answered the survey, rated their overall experience as good, and 99 per cent considered their medical needs met.
85 per cent were satisfied with the appointment offered.
READ MORE: Best and worst GP surgeries in and around Salisbury - As rated by you
'Best possible care throughout'
Responding to the survey results, Tisbury Surgery said: “We’re delighted with the result – especially in the current challenging times – a huge thank you is due to each and every one of our staff.
“All the local surgeries work well together and have been doing their utmost to offer the best possible care throughout and after the pandemic – as evidenced by the local covid vaccination service.”
Challenges for the surgery
Staffing issues, including employees absent because of Covid-19, and waiting times have been issues felt nationally across the NHS, and Tisbury Surgery is no exception.
Tisbury Surgery's Dr. Adam Smith said that last week alone, with a GP absent because of the virus and another on annual leave, ten clinical sessions worth of appointments were missed, equivalent of five days.
More nursing staff have been employed to tackle the problem but “finances are finite”, Dr Smith added.
“Recently published pay increases ‘for the NHS’ of, for example 9.3 per cent for some admin staff, are not funded for primary care, unlike hospitals, secondary care, etcetera.
“We are very lucky to have a fantastically loyal staff – every single person prides themselves on the service given to the patient and have all willingly covered colleagues sickness absences.”
Appointment times
Another issue faced by the surgery was patients coming to the practice, post Covid-19 pandemic, with “eight to ten issues rather than the usual one or two”, causing appointments to surpass the 10-minute allocation.
Each issue may generate further appointments, including blood tests, referrals, reviews and more.
Services 'balancing act'
One of the weaker areas for the surgery, according to the survey data, was patients getting to see their preferred doctor, rated 74 per cent.
In response the surgery said this was due to the commitments of GPs, understaffing, financial and space restraints, and the “balancing act” of providing as many services as possible.
Dr Smith said: “It’s natural that patients have a preferred doctor.
“Of necessity some GPs have other responsibilities within the practice - for example one of our female GPs now runs a specialist contraceptive clinic, so there may be fewer appointments to see her for other matters.
“However, we felt it was an important service to offer to patients.
“It’s always a balancing act to try to provide as wide a range of services that we can – hence the ‘general’ in General Practice.”
Finance and space
Dr Smith added: “Not only are there financial restraints but there is now a space issue within the surgery – an issue common throughout primary care.
"All clinical rooms are 100 per cent used – and we’ve run out of space.
“We really do need the goodwill of both patients and staff to deliver the service to which we aspire.”
Surgery's future
When asked how the surgery aims to maintain its positive reputation, the team said it is already open from 8am until 6.30pm every weekday, and will be offering appointments before and after these times, as well as some Saturday appointments, from October.
Staff added: “Working in collaboration with the other surgeries within Sarum West PCN, we will be offering additional patient access, such as weekend flu clinics, Saturday morning smear surgeries, patient long term condition review appointments, booster covid vaccination clinics in Tisbury, and much more.”
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