GPs in remote rural Scotland get a vote of confidence from their patients according to a report out today from the University of Aberdeen in collaboration with the Scottish Centre for Social Research (SCSR).
- People in remote rural areas are nearly twice as likely to be very satisfied with their GP as people in Scotland as a whole (62% versus 35%)
- People in remote rural areas are twice as likely as people in Scotland as a whole to say they would phone a GP if they thought someone in their family was having a heart attack in the middle of the night (30% versus 15%).
- Only one in ten people in remote rural areas feel it is necessary to reduce the time it takes to get a GP appointment, compared with 43% across Scotland as a whole
One reason people in remote rural Scotland may value their GP so much is that they are more likely to think their nearest A & E department is too far away.
ยท 39% of people in remote rural areas think their nearest Accident and Emergency Department is too far away, compared with a quarter of those in Scotland as a whole.
Meanwhile, people in rural areas will doubtless welcome the news that the vast majority (79%) of people in Scotland as a whole think that standards of health care in rural areas should be as good as those in urban areas, even if they cost more to provide.
The report's author, Dr Jane Farmer, Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen's Business School said:
"The report findings are especially timely given that imminent changes in the way GPs work are likely to affect the way services are provided in rural Scotland and the staff who provide them."
Dr Malcolm Alexander, of RARARI said: "This report funded by RARARI highlights interesting differences in the public perception of health care provision in remote and rural areas. Reliance on quality primary care services is clear and the role of the GP in covering emergencies is paramount in the patient's mind. Equally the public expect hospital services as close to home as possible reinforcing the ongoing need for smaller general hospitals. This matches findings in England where locally based hospital services are being retained.
This report is timely when the method of provision of primary and secondary care services needs to change to meet the demands of working time regulations and the new GMS and Consultant contracts. Further monitoring of patient satisfaction will be needed as we move through this period of change."
The report is based on interviews with over 1,500 Scots who were asked their views on access to health services as part of the 2002 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey. The work was funded by the NHS in Scotland's Remote & Rural Areas Resource Initiative (RARARI) and the survey was undertaken by the Scottish Centre for Social Research.