Report by Hope and Care – 16 December 2020
An observational review by Healthwatch Wokingham of information provided by GP websites in Wokingham Borough.
You can read a short summary of our report below or scroll down to the bottom to download the full report.
Summary
In May 2020 Healthwatch Wokingham launched a survey to understand more about how people in the Borough were experiencing the changes in health and social care due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Early analysis showed that some people found it difficult to access the information they were looking for regarding GP services.
What we did
We reviewed the websites of the 13 GP surgeries in Wokingham Borough between 27th July 2020 and 18th August 2020. The information we found was a snapshot of the information held on the sites in the given time period.
Key Findings
The majority of websites did not contain information about what to expect if a patient needed to visit the practice, including wearing a mask, social distancing and whether you could be accompanied.
Only 15% of websites provided clear information about how to book a telephone consultation and 8% for E-consultation. E-consultations could include video consultations or messaging services depending on the practice.
Information on making a complaint or providing feedback was difficult to find in some cases.
Patient surveys were not made available by any of the practices.
The information regarding patient registration needs to be clearer in terms of your rights to register and rights concerning proof of ID if asked.
We made six recommendations based on the key findings. The report was shared with the West Berkshire clinical commissioning group for comment and they have agreed to implement all six recommendations.