Access to GP services has been highlighted as a key area for improvement in Sunderland following concerns from both residents and councillors. It comes after the findings were presented from a survey undertaken by Healthwatch Sunderland last summer to gather people’s general experiences of using their local out of hospital care services.
The work was carried out on behalf of All Together Better, which brings together providers and commissioning organisations in Sunderland. The city’s health and wellbeing board on Monday (July 11) heard how although overall feedback was positive, the top cause for complaint was around difficulty getting a GP appointment.
Philip Foster, managing director at All Together Better, said it is an issue they are aware of and doing work on to improve services and inform residents of other routes to care. He said: “Despite some high levels of satisfaction with GPs, the most common complaint that we heard throughout the survey was related to people’s difficulty getting a GP appointment.
