Case Study: How staff and patients worked together to improve their general practice

At Gresleydale Healthcare Centre in Swadlincote practice staff worked together with their Patient Participation Group to implement the changes in telephone and website systems.

How we improved our general practice together – watch the practice team and patients at Gresleydale explain how they did it.

Practice manager Rose Cotton said: “Last year we knew that patient satisfaction had declined, so we asked ourselves why, we looked at the improvements we could make and decided to get on and do it.

“We asked our patients what was important to them and they told us that the ability to get a call back, rather than waiting in a phone queue, was really important.

“Patients also wanted to be able to do simple things online like getting a FIT note if they can’t work due to sickness, or the information they need for foreign travel.

“We worked with our Patient Participation Group to plan these changes and we looked at the feedback that we get through the Friends and Family Survey.”

The team at Gresleydale:

• Introduced a new digital phone system. This allows callers to request a call back and it shows the call handlers how many people are waiting at any one time. This allows them to deploy extra people to answer phones at busy times.
• Revamped their website so the most used features were prominent and so it is easier to use for people who are neuro-diverse, or have disabilities.
• Provided more signposting to other services, such as Pharmacy First, NHS 111 and to evening and weekend appointment slots.
• Introduced a standardised script and training to help the call handlers make appointments with the right clinician for the patient’s needs.

The changes have helped to lead to a 10% improvement in the numbers of non-urgent appointments that are booked within the recommended two weeks.

The teamwork involved in making the changes also improved job satisfaction across the team of clinicians and support staff, said deputy practice manager Zoe Simpkins.

She said: “We took part in the General Practice Improvement Programme because we wanted to make the practice more efficient, whether that was through small fixes or bigger things like the website and phone system.

“We got all our staff on board, got them to think about the benefits of what we were doing, encouraged them to critique what we were doing, to identify the issues they were having.

“It was a real team effort. Everyone got involved, the administrative staff, the nurses, the GPs, the secretaries – they all got involved.

“It has made a massive difference. The health and wellbeing of the whole team has been improved. They can see that we are improving what we do for our patients and our staff.”

Helen Clare, chair of the Patient Participation Group, said: “The views and experiences of patients have been central to the changes implemented by the practice.

“It is better now for people to ring in for an appointment because you don’t have to wait on the telephone.

“The website has also made it easier for people to do the more routine tasks like ordering repeat prescription.

“We know the practice staff are still under a lot of pressure because of the number of patients they need to see, but these changes have made a real difference.”