Expectations of Access to General Practice Services in England
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Consumerism and Expectations of Access to General Practice in England: A Qualitative Interview-Based Study
IRAS ID
151500
Contact name
Thomas E Cowling
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 31 days
Research summary
What do patients expect regarding access to their general practice?
Some patients may be dissatisfied with the appointments they are able to book with their general practitioner (GP) – the timing and convenience of the appointment may not meet expectations. This could cause patients to use accident and emergency (A&E) services instead, when their GP may be able to provide a more suitable service. To address this issue, it is necessary to find out what patients do expect regarding their appointments, such that improvements can then be made. The research will examine the following questions:
1. What do patients think of when attempting to see a GP/nurse, and how does this vary by context?
2. What do patients expect with regards to getting a GP appointment, and how does this vary by context?
3. Are patients expectations of getting a GP appointment different from those for non-healthcare services, and why?
Interviews with patients registered with a general practice in England will be conducted, which will involve study participants responding to a series of questions for a 45 minute period. We intend to interview between 10 and 20 patients depending on the results returned. Study participants will be recruited from research networks in London. The study is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and will be conducted with the Department of Primary Care and Public Health at Imperial College London as the research site.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/EM/1296
Date of REC Opinion
22 Dec 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion