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More than 90% of adult patients say their GP is listening to them
The vast majority of Australian patients are happy with how their GP listens to them, shows respect and gives them time, new data from the AIHW’s patient experience survey shows.
GPs have received the tick from patients for listening and respect.
Nine out of 10 of Australian patients said their GPs always or often spent enough time with them, ranging from 93% in the Darling Downs and West Moreton Primary Health Networks (PHNs) in Queensland, to 86% in Gippsland in Victoria.
The data, collated in the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Patient experiences in Australia in 2016–17, also shows that 83% of Australian adults saw a GP in the previous 12 months.
Across the country, 85% of adults rated their health as excellent, very good or good. However, this percentage varied from a high of 92% in northern Sydney to 78% in Murrumbidgee in NSW.
Almost one in eight patients (12.1%) saw their GP more than 12 times in the preceding 12 months. And 11.2% of patients sought urgent medical care from their GP, rising to 15% of patients Western NSW.
Nationally, 28.5% of patients could not see their preferred GP in the previous 12 months, with that figure rising as high as 43.6% in Western NSW.
Western NSW also had the highest percentage of patients who felt the wait to see a GP was longer than acceptable, at 38.1%.
AIHW patient feedback patient survey
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