Friday 23 February 2007
Since the beginning of 2006, patients have been entitled to a choice of four or more hospitals when referred by their GP. The Department of Health commissioned Ipsos MORI to undertake a regular postal survey assessing the implementation of this policy.
The results of the first three surveys indicate that most eligible patients are not receiving any choice of hospital provider, despite government exhortations — although the proportion being offered a choice has improved with each wave of research.
The results of the first wave relate to referrals made in May / June 2006, the results of the second wave for referrals made in July 2006 and the third for referrals made in September 2006.
The main findings of the September survey are:
- More patients recalled being offered a choice of hospital for their first outpatient appointment in September: 38% compared with 35% in the July survey.
- 32% of patients were aware before they visited their GP that they had a choice of hospitals for their first appointment, the same as in the July survey.
- 58% of patients who were aware of choice recalled being offered choice, whereas 28% of those not aware of choice recalled being offered it, compared with 55% and 26% respectively in the July survey.
- 27% of patients who were offered a choice of hospital were also offered a copy of the 'Choosing your hospital' booklet, compared with 26% in the July survey.
- 78% of patients who were offered choice were satisfied with the process and 5% were dissatisfied, compared with 75% and 6% respectively in the July survey.
- Location or transport considerations were again given most often, by 66% of patients, as an important factor when choosing a hospital.
The results of each wave relate to a two-week referral window:
- Results for Wave 1 based on 78,777 respondents.
- Results for Wave 2 based on 70,084 respondents.
- Results for Wave 3 based on 70,580 respondents.
Topline Results
- Fieldwork carried out by postal questionnaire among patients referred in the last two weeks of May for Wave 1, the last two weeks of July for Wave 2 and the last two weeks of September for Wave 3.
- Where results do not sum to 100%, this may be due to computer rounding, multiple responses, or to the exclusion of don't knows or non-responses.
- An asterisk (*) indicates a finding of less than 0.5%, but greater than zero.
- Results are weighted.
- Base: All unless otherwise stated.
Q1 Before you visited your GP, did you know that you now have a choice of hospitals that you can go to for your first hospital appointment?
| | Wave 1 | Wave 2 | Wave 3 |
|---|
| | % | % | % |
|---|
| Yes | 29 | 32 | 32 |
| No | 69 | 67 | 67 |
| Not stated | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Q2 Were you offered a choice of hospital for your first hospital appointment?
| | Wave 1 | Wave 2 | Wave 3 |
|---|
| | % | % | % |
|---|
| Yes | 30 | 35 | 38 |
| No | 64 | 59 | 57 |
| Don't know | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Not stated | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Q3 Were you offered a copy of the Choosing Your Hospital booklet by your GP Practice?
Base: All who were offered a choice of hospital
| | Wave 1 | Wave 2 | Wave 3 |
|---|
| Base | (23,344) | (24,492) | (26,472) |
|---|
| | % | % | % |
|---|
| Yes | 20 | 26 | 27 |
| No | 70 | 64 | 62 |
| Don't know | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Not stated | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Q4 Which of the following best describes how you felt about the process of choosing your hospital?
Base: All who were offered a choice of hospital
| | Wave 1 | Wave 2 | Wave 3 |
|---|
| | (23,344) | (24,492) | (26,472) |
|---|
| | % | % | % |
|---|
| Very satisfied | 48 | 48 | 51 |
| Fairly satisfied | 27 | 27 | 27 |
| Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied | 15 | 15 | 13 |
| Fairly dissatisfied | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Very dissatisfied | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Not stated | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Q5 Which three factors, if any, would be most important to you when choosing a hospital?
Top 9 factors
| | Wave 1 | Wave 2 | Wave 3 |
|---|
| | % | % | % |
|---|
| Location / Transport (accessibility / easy to get to) | 57 | 68 | 66 |
| Waiting times | 22 | 25 | 22 |
| Reputation of hospital (previous experience / familiarity / confidence) | 18 | 22 | 21 |
| Quality of care (treatment / standards / expertise) | 17 | 19 | 19 |
| Cleanliness (infection free / hygiene / MRSA levels) | 15 | 20 | 18 |
| Quality of staff (friendliness / competence / kindness) | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| Car parking (free / cheaper / easier) | 6 | 8 | 7 |
| Reputation of consultant (specialisms) | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Appointment time / flexibility / suitable time / seen on time | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Don't know | 1 | * | * |
| Not stated | 27 | 15 | 17 |
Q6 Do you have any comments about your experience of arranging a hospital appointment?
Top 8 factors
| | Wave 1 | Wave 2 | Wave 3 |
|---|
| | % | % | % |
|---|
| Pleased / satisfied / excellent / good | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Efficient / straightforward | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Takes too long for appointments to come through | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Waiting time / waiting list too long / delays | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Quick / quick appointment / seen quicker than expected | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Staff pleasant / helpful / friendly / polite | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Difficulty with phoning / amount of time to get through / line always busy | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Good GP / GP arranged appointment / happy to leave it to GP | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| No comment | 14 | 17 | 15 |
| Not stated | 44 | 34 | 36 |
National Patient Choice Survey Waves
Reports
- Report on the National Patient Choice Survey, England — July 2007 Release date: 12 December 2007, Producer: DH
- Report of the National Patient Choice Survey, England — March 2007 Release date: 17 August 2007, Producer: DH
- Report of the National Patient Choice Survey, England — January 2007 Release date: 12 June 2007, Producer: DH
- Report of the Patient Choice Survey, England — November 2006 Release date: 29 March 2007, Producer: DH
- Report of the Patient Choice Survey, England — September 2006 Release date: 23 February 2007, Producer: DH
- Report of the Patient Choice Survey, England — July 2006, Release date: 15 December 2006, Producer: DH
- Report on the Results of the Patient Choice Survey — England-May / June 2006 and headline figures for July 2006, Release date: 13 November 2006, Producer: DH