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Nearly 40% of Welsh people find accessing a GP difficult

by
11 June 2015

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The National Survey for Wales, which had more than 14,000 participants, found that 38% found it difficult to make a convenient GP appointment.

However, according to the GP Access Survey published in February by the Welsh government, 76% of GP practices in Wales open for daily core hours, (8:00-18:30) or within one hour of the daily core hours, Monday to Friday. The majority (95%) of practices offered appointments at any time between 17:00 and 18:30 at least two days a week in 2013.

People living in urban areas found it more difficult to make a convenient appointment by 9% (40% of people in urban areas found it difficult, compared to 31% of people in rural areas).

However, 91% of people were satisfied with their GP care. Satisfaction was shown to increase with age, with 57% of 16-24 year olds stating they are very satisfied compared to 77% of people over age 75. There was little variation in satisfaction with GP care by geographic area.

In terms of patient information, 84% of people said that the GP knew all the relevant information about them and 90% of people said that they or their carer were given all the information needed at their GP appointment.

See the full survey results for healthhere