What was the brief?
This project gathered patient experiences of using digital services in GP practices, and the different ways of booking appointments and consultations. This was particularly timely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions.
What did we do?
The pandemic restrictions presented our team with the challenge of engaging with people when face-to-face was not an option. We developed an online questionnaire which was promoted to patients of the seven GP practices in the Outer West area. However to ensure people with limited digital access could also share their views, we conducted telephone interviews, enabling people to share their experiences despite the restrictions.
We used stakeholder telephone interviews for the second part of the engagement. By identifying local organisations who support seldom heard or minority groups, we successfully included the experiences of marginalised communities in our findings.
What was the impact?
Our findings and recommendations were well received by the project leads, enabling them to continue improving access to digital solutions to patients.
We are currently supporting Gateshead Outer West Primary Care Network with a follow up project to gauge how opinions have changed on digital services and solutions in GP practice 2 years later.
