GP telephone waiting times in Greenwich - mystery shopping report

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Summary of report content

Healthwatch Greenwich decided to undertake a mystery shopping exercise to measure the waiting time to speak to someone at each GP surgery in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

Overall, call waiting times were short.  Across all practices, the call waiting time range was from 1 minute to 36 minutes (not including uncontactable practices)  Overall average waiting time across all practices is 6 minutes .

Two practices were uncontactable. One practice was uncontactable via telephone • One (recently merged) practice was uncontactable as the number did not divert to the new practice number.

The report contains four recommendations.

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Report 
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General details

Report title 
GP telephone waiting times in Greenwich - mystery shopping report
Local Healthwatch 
Healthwatch Greenwich
Date of publication 
Friday, 25 February, 2022
Date evidence capture began 
Friday, 1 October, 2021
Date evidence capture finished 
Tuesday, 30 November, 2021
Key themes 
Access
Service delivery organisation and staffing

Methodology and approach

Was the work undertaken at the request of another organisation? 
No
Primary research method used 
Observation
If an Enter and View methodology was applied, was the visit announced or unannounced? 
N/A

Details of health and care services included in the report

Primary care services 
GP practice

Details about conditions and diseases

What type of pregnancy or maternity themes are included in the report 
N/A

Details of people who shared their views

Number of people who shared their views 
Not applicable
Age group 
Not known
Gender 
Not known
Ethnicity 
Not known
Sexual orientation 
Not known
Does the information include public's views? 
Not applicable
Does the information include carer's, friend's or relative's views? 
Not applicable
Does the information include staff's views? 
Not applicable
What was the main sentiment of the people who shared their views? 
Neutral

Outcomes and impact

Were recommendations made by local Healthwatch in the report? 
Yes
Does the information contain a response from a provider? 
No
Is there evidence of impact in the report? 
No
Is there evidence of impact external to the report? 
Not known

Network Impact
Relationships that exist locally, regionally, nationally have benefited from the work undertaken in the report
 
Implied Impact
Where it is implied that change may occur in the future as a result of Healthwatch work. This can be implied in a provider  response, press release or other source. Implied impact can become tangible impact once change has occurred.
 
Tangible Impact
There is evidence of change that can be directly attributed to Healthwatch work undertaken in the report.