Making the FFT more transparent in primary care

Trust/Practice: Oaklodge Medical Centre, Barnet

What did they do?

The practice acknowledges it has access problems and several initiatives are in place to improve this. The practice team see the FFT as a helpful tool to allow them to reflect and review how they are doing when it comes to accessing the service. It was felt that making FFT feedback more transparent would help to show how issues around access are being addressed.

The FFT data is collated monthly and a selection of positive and negative patient feedback as well as comments from the practice in response, form part of a monthly report that is posted on the practice website for patients to view as well as circulated to the entire practice team.

What did they learn?

Sharing the monthly report has helped to put patient experience on the agenda in the practice, and to engage patients in what the practice team are doing to address their concerns around access.

They note the following achievements:

  • Improved communication with patients – the shared report is evidence that the practice is listening and is responsive to their feedback
  • Better awareness amongst the team of the role of patient experience
  • Better awareness amongst the team of access issues
  • An opportunity for the practice to reflect on team performance, systems and processes

Importantly, their FFT feedback has led to the following improvements to access:

  • Hints and tips and supporting information to help make services more accessible, whether in person, by phone or online – to cater for all patients’ needs
  • Better promotion of the patient online access service, and as a result more patients using this service
  • Review of systems, processes and performance hindering access, e.g. faulty telephone systems
  • Review of appointment structure
  • Monitoring of appointment usage, phone lines and access times

Oaklodge put patients at the heart of all they do. Therefore, feedback such as the FFT is so valuable to have a patient perspective to drive change. The more patient focussed we remain the better the patient experience.