Publication of local GP data

This will cover, for example: time between booking and appointment date; total appointments, how the patient was consulted, (e.g. telephone or in person) and who consulted with the patients (e.g. GP or other healthcare professional).

It has been acknowledged that GPAD is an experimental statistics publication, which means the statistics are in the testing phase and are not yet fully developed

Dr Jeremy Imms, Associate Director for Primary Care, NHS Somerset said: “We know just how hard our GP practices in Somerset have been working in recent years responding to the pressures of Covid-19, at a time when there has a huge increase in demand for their services.”

“It’s been disappointing for a number of our GPs to see that there are inaccuracies in the data published today.”

“This includes data showing a number of practices are seeing very few patients face-to-face, when in fact they are performing well above average. We understand this has been caused by a problem with computer systems. We would like to reassure patients and staff in affected practices that we are working hard to make sure this data is updated to reflect the true picture.”

“We have a wide range of staff in primary care at our 63 GPs in Somerset, ranging from mental health nurses and paramedics to health connectors, physiotherapists, practice nurses, care navigator, as well as GPs, who all help our patients access the care that they need.”

“We are pleased to see that the 2022 GP Patient Survey looking at data from July 2021 – July 2022 recognised the quality of care our practices in Somerset provide, including:

• 95% of patients in Somerset say they have confidence and trust in healthcare staff at their GP (compared to 93% nationally)
• 93% said they had their needs met (compare to 91% nationally)

Visit NHS Somerset for more information around primary care in Somerset.

The news story is also available on the: NHS Somerset website