Patients give Bolton doctors seal of approval

10:02am Monday 4th August 2008

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PATIENTS in Bolton have high levels of trust in their family doctor, according to a national survey of GP practices.

The Healthcare Commission has released the results of its annual survey, based on answers given by 69,000 patients nationally.

Bolton was in the top 20 per cent for positive responses when patients were asked about whether they had trust and confidence in their GP, whether they were seen close to their appointment time and whether they had been involved in decisions about the right medication to take.

Dr Ian James, from the Spring House Surgery in Chorley Old Road, said: “These results are extremely encouraging. Our practice, and most practices in Bolton, already provide this type of service.

“It’s important patients are involved in decisions about the right medication to take. It should be a joint decision between the doctor and the patient.”

The survey, which was posted to a cross-section of local people, also revealed Bolton needs to improve on the provision of advice on how to best use medicines, carrying out medication reviews and the number of patients who were offered a choice of hospitals.

Since the last survey 12 months ago more people have said they can book an appointment in advance with their GP, rather than on the same day and fewer people are reporting problems getting through to the surgery.

Anna Basford, deputy chief executive of Bolton Primary Care Trust, said: “The results as a whole give a snapshot of patient experiences. We’ll look at these figures alongside other surveys and patient feedback to help us identify areas where we can work with and support local GPs to make further improvements.”

Bolton has a chronic shortage of family doctors — and health chiefs are now appealing to GPs and nurses to come to the town and set up a new surgery.

The town has the equivalent of 151 full-time GPs, 14 short of the target figure of 165.