Exclusive: The GP patient survey is to undergo a significant redesign this year, with unpopular access indicators re-modelled and questions on care planning removed altogether, Pulse has learned.
The revamp will also see the survey itself drastically scaled back in order to save money.
Professor Martin Roland, professor of health services research at the University of Cambridge and one of those who helped design the survey as a GP advisor to the Department of Health, said the 2011-12 GP patient survey which is currently being drafted would see a number of changes.
‘The question on care planning will be dropped, and the questions on access will be significantly redesigned,' he said.
‘The access questions will be alright, but still not perfect. I would like to see more questions on continuity of care, and will continue to push for this, but there will still be only two questions.'
Professor Roland also revealed that the Government was cutting distribution of the survey by around half, from 5.5 million to less than 3 million, as a cost-cutting measure.
It comes as the latest results from the survey show that patients' overall satisfaction with their GP stands as 83%, unchanged from the last round of results.
