Patients' satisfaction with general practitioner services: a survey by a community health council

Brighton community health council responded to the invitation of five local general practitioners to undertake a patient satisfaction survey of their practices. A total of 177 mothers of children under five years old were interviewed in their own homes. Satisfaction with the services provided by the general practitioners and members of the primary health care team to the respondents and to their young children was high overall, but critical comment reflected a dissatisfaction with professionals' unwillingness to take mothers' concerns at face value and to recognize the validity of mothers' own experiential knowledge. Some women were not satisfied with the extent to which they could ask questions or explain their problem. They resented attempts by receptionists to bar access to doctors and the apparent reluctance of doctors and health visitors to make home visits. It is suggested that various strategies such as telephone consultations, written guidelines on childhood ailments and parent support groups within the context of a more interactive partnership between patients and professionals could lead to a more effective service.