Many patients leave GP appointment without discussing all worries, survey shows

Two-fifths of patients leave their GP appointment without discussing everything that is worrying them about their health, a survey has revealed.

The finding has prompted claims that older people often feel family doctors “want them out the door as soon as possible” rather than listening to all their concerns.

The polling firm Ipsos found that while 51% of Britons were able to talk about “everything” or “most things” they wanted to raise the last time they saw a GP, 40% were only able to discuss “some things”, “hardly anything” or “nothing at all”.

The study found 72% of people wanted consultations with a family doctor to last at least 15 minutes, of which one in five preferred 20 minutes, rather than the current standard 10-minute slot.

Dennis Reed, the director of Silver Voices, a membership organisation for older people, said that while “there are many wonderful GPs who take all the time that is necessary … an increasing number appear irritated and impatient if an older patient feels the need to explain their medical history to give context”.

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He warned that patients not having enough time to talk through all their concerns with a GP meant there was a “great danger that only the immediate and obvious symptoms are dealt with” and that “underlying, more serious concerns can easily be missed”.

The leader of the UK’s 54,000 family doctors said they had the same “frustrations” as those that Ipsos found to be common among patients, and agreed that appointments were too short, but said they were too busy and short-staffed to be able to offer more time.

“GPs share many of our patients’ frustrations outlined in this polling. In fact, recent polling of our members found 60% of GPs felt that they didn’t have enough time to adequately assess and treat patients,” said Prof Kamila Hawthorne, the chair of the Royal College of GPs.

“We need more time during consultations, particularly if a patient has complex health needs. We want to be able to treat our patients holistically and talk through all their health concerns. But with the current workload and workforce pressures facing GPs and our teams, we’re struggling to give our patients the time they need and the time we want to spend with them,” she added.

Ipsos’s findings appear to contradict those from the most recent annual GP patient survey , published in July. It found that 90% of patients felt their needs were met at their last GP appointment and 74% had a good experience overall.

NHS England cited that research in its response to the new polling but accepted that primary care needed to do more to meet patients’ needs.

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“GP teams are working incredibly hard to see increasing numbers of patients and a recent survey found nine out of 10 patients said their needs were met at their last appointment,” a spokesperson said. “But these findings make clear there is more to do to improve patients’ satisfaction and experience in accessing primary care services.”

Ipsos’s poll of a 1,094-strong representative sample of the population also found that:

• 43% have to tell the receptionist about their concerns before they get an appointment.

• 31% must first talk to a GP on the phone and 22% must fill out an online form.

• 56% want GPs to make it easier to get an in-person consultation.

• 53% want shorter waiting times for appointments.

The findings show that access to GPs is “not acceptable”, according to Rachel Power, the chief executive of the Patients Association.

She said: “People’s mental and physical health is at risk of worsening if they can’t get support in a timely fashion. Also, getting a GP appointment shouldn’t be some sort of test in persistence and digital skills.”

NHS England said every GP practice in England was contractually obliged to let patients walk in, telephone or go online to make an appointment, and to offer face-to-face consultations alongside telephone or online virtual appointments.

Kate Duxbury, Ipsos UK’s director for health and social care, said the poll “shows a lack of confidence in [patients’] ability to get a GP appointment quickly at a time that suits them, and a desire for improvements in how easy it is to get a face-to-face appointment, waiting times and how easy it is to book an appointment.”