Exploring GP practice usage and perceptions of changing service provision during the pandemic
Responses received to COVID-19 GP use survey
Open-ended questions coded by Enventure Research
Responses to open-ended questions coded
Challenge
NHS Wakefield CCG (now NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board) wished to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on GP usage. The pandemic resulted in the implementation of significant changes to the way GP practices worked, using different ways to support patients and keep them safe at home. Changes included the increased use of remote and online appointments, offering a telephone triage service, and the suspension of some GP services, such as clinics and health checks.
The CCG delivered a consultation with patients that used their GP practice during the pandemic to establish what worked well, and what could be improved. It subsequently commissioned Enventure Research to undertake the coding of the open-ended responses received to the survey and report on the findings.
Approach
responses. The survey was hosted using SurveyMonkey and administered to patients who had used their GP practice during the pandemic.
The survey gathered feedback on usage of GP practices during the pandemic, experiences and perceptions of increased use of technology to access health care, experiences of the triage system, usage of digital technology at home, satisfaction with the services received, and openness to increased use of digital access to healthcare in the future, amongst other topics.
Outcome
Enventure Research was provided with the survey data for analysis and reporting. For the analysis of open-ended responses, comments were read through by a researcher and a coding frame developed for each open-ended question based on the themes emerging. This then allowed for categorisation of the themes. In total, 13,389 open-ended comments received in relation to 24 questions were analysed.
The report detailed all findings from the survey and included subgroup analysis to explore the results provided by different groups, such as those who shielded during the pandemic, age, gender, disability and Primary Care Network (PCN) area.
Findings from the research enabled NHS Wakefield CCG to assess patients’ experiences of accessing GP care during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing insight to support future service planning.
Insightful research. Expertly delivered.
