Exploring views on NHS health services in Lincolnshire

IMP Healthcare wanted to hear from patients and staff across their 9 GP practices in Lincolnshire on how well services are being delivered, what can be improved, and what matters most when they need healthcare or in their roles to deliver it.

Participants

3,838 patients and family members (73 being family members, carers or supporters) and 128 GP practice staff.

Methods

Online survey, free-text questions, single or multi-select questions, Likert scales.

Impact

A nuanced understanding of patient views and concerns across each GP practice and insights which validate the rationale behind existing plans and guide priorities for future changes.

Delivered on behalf of:

What we did

Conducted an initial consultation with patient reps from IMP Patient Council to inform content and priorities for the survey. Members of the project team also consulted with clinical colleagues for input.
Launched a multi-branch survey open for just under 3 months; one for GP practice patients, and one for GP practice staff.
Recruited participants via SMS and email outreach to registered patients, as well as through posters pinned up in GP surgeries.
The patient survey looked to understand patient experiences, validate existing plans against user needs, generate ideas for service development, and inform priorities for service delivery changes.
The staff survey wanted to hear staff experiences of service delivery, to understand what staff need most to do their jobs and to gather views on which service changes should be prioritised.

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Key insights

There were a number of concrete learnings from this consultation, including:

1

While services have been objectively improving – more patients seen and shorter wait times – these improvements are not being felt by IMP Healthcare’s community

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2

A better understanding of the different healthcare needs of local communities throughout their lives

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3

There are high levels of digital uptake but within this there are still significant pockets of digital exclusion

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4

Mental health remains a big issue, particularly the importance of access to timely mental healthcare

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Improvement in action

This consultation gave IMP Healthcare a detailed understanding of the biggest concerns facing patients, their biggest needs, and the priorities facing each generational group. This insight has helped validate changes already being implemented and could be used to add nuance to each surgery’s performance and any differing priorities.

Actions informed by this consultation include improving access to mental health care services through a dedicated primary care mental health team and Neurodivergence Care Co-ordinator. The team are also now working with their local council on a community regeneration project to tackle digital exclusion.

IMP Healthcare also plan to improve communication to their community about the good work that is being done and have refocused their priorities to be able to meet the needs of people throughout their lives.