Waiting times and GPs

Summary

A request was made to the Isle of Man Department of Health and Social Care for data on GP staffing, appointment availability, patient registration, waiting times, and Patient Access app usage. The authority disclosed all requested information, providing detailed breakdowns by practice and specific statistics for the period between March and July 2019.

Key Facts

• There were 54 GPs working across 12 NHS practices on the island as of June 27, 2019.
• A total of 87,718 patients were registered across all GP practices as of March 31, 2019.
• Waiting times for non-emergency appointments varied significantly by practice and month, ranging from 0 to 22 days.
• The Department set a target of 20% for practices to attain regarding Patient Access app registration.
• Ramsey Group Practice had the highest number of registered patients (14,274) and the highest average weekly appointments (1,036).
• No information was withheld; the outcome was 'All information sent'.

Data Disclosed

• 87718
• 54
• 20%
• 2019-06-27
• 2019-03-31
• 22 days
• 14274
• 1036
• 3945
• 2019-07-19

Original Request

Question 1: How many GPS are currently working at the island's NHS practices? Broken down per practice? Question 2: What is the average number of appointments available at each practice? Question 3: How many patients are registered at each practice? Question 4: What is the average waiting time for patients not seeking an emergency appointment? Question 5: How many Manx residents are registered on the Patient Access app?

Data Tables (5)

Full Response Text

Chief Executive: Angela Murray Freedom of Information Team DHSC Crookall House Demesne Road Douglas IM1 3QA

(01624) 642621 dhsc@foi.gov.im Website: www.gov.im/dhsc

Our ref: 866165 19th July 2019

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 26 June 2019 and states:

“Question 1: How many GPS are currently working at the island's NHS practices? Broken down per practice? Question 2: What is the average number of appointments available at each practice? Question 3: How many patients are registered at each practice? Question 4: What is the average waiting time for patients not seeking an emergency appointment? Question 5: How many Manx residents are registered on the Patient Access app?"

Our response to your request is as follows: Question 1: How many GPS are currently working at the island's NHS practices? Broken down per practice? The number of GPs currently working on 27th June 2019 at each GP Practice is shown below. Between the GPs in each Practice they are working a mixture of full and part- time hours.

GP Practice No of GPs Kensington 5 Laxey/Onchan 5 Peel 6 Hailwood 4 Palatine 7 Ballasalla 3 Finch Hill 1 Snaefell 3 Promenade 3 Ramsey 7 Castletown 4 Southern 6 Question 2: What is the average number of appointments available at each practice? The average number of GP appointments made available on each day will vary dependent on patient need as well as the number of sessions provided. The table shows how many appointments were available in the last week of each month. The average number of weekly appointments is calculated using the 4 months’ data within the table. Total No of Appointments Per Week Practice MAR APR MAY JUNE Average Kensington 213 380 352 396 335 Laxey/Onchan 580 511 352 482 481 Peel 670 275 441 538 481 Hailwood 355 295 263 369 321 Palatine 554 549 443 553 525 Ballasalla 386 306 345 333 343 Finch Hill 366 196 149 226 234 Snaefell 329 329 261 329 312 Promenade 180 180 210 182 188 Ramsey 814 840 1363 1125 1036 Castletown 416 333 271 276 324 Southern 506 386 387 423 426 Question 3: How many patients are registered at each practice? We have provided the figures of patients registered at each GP Group Practice as of 31st March 2019 as requested in the table overleaf. Figures are collated on a quarterly basis and the next quarter figures will be available by the end of July 2019.

GP Practice Patients Registered Kensington 9081 Laxey/Onchan 8242 Peel 8641 Hailwood 7538 Palatine 9660 Ballasalla 4452 Finch Hill 4836 Snaefell 5532 Promenade 4368 Ramsey 14274 Castletown 3952 Southern 7142 Total 87718 Question 4: What is the average waiting time for patients not seeking an emergency appointment? As you will appreciate the waiting time for non-emergency appointments does differ.
The figures below indicate the waiting time (in days) which is collated on or around the first working day of the month from April to July 2019. April May June July GP Practice Days Excluding weekends Days Excluding weekends Days Excluding weekends Days Excluding weekends Kensington 14 10 4 2 1 1 3 3 Laxey/Onchan 3 3 4 4 9 5 9 7 Peel 9 7 8 6 1 1 2 2 Hailwood 2 0 8 6 6 4 7 5 Palatine 2 0 5 3 1 1 10 8 Ballasalla 0 0 9 7 2 2 3 3 Finch Hill 7 5 12 8 7 5 0 0 Snaefell 9 7 5 3 1 1 1 1 Promenade 3 0 6 4 0 0 0 0 Ramsey 2 0 3 1 3 3 7 6 Castletown 2 0 0 0 3 3 3 3 Southern 18 14 3 3 17 13 22 16

Question 5: How many Manx residents are registered on the Patient Access app? The number of patients registered at each GP Practice who are registered on the Patient Access system are detailed as below. The figure is monitored by the Department on a monthly basis and there is a target of 20% for Practices to attain.

Organisation % Males Females Total Ramsey Group Practice 32% 1574 2371 3945 Southern Group Practice 22% 566 786 1352 Promenade Medical Centre 28% 434 585 1019 Palatine Group Practice 36% 1196 1761 2957 Finch Hill Health Centre 25% 392 584 976 Castletown Medical Centre 29% 388 573 961 Laxey & Village Walk Health Centres 25% 619 1051 1670 Ballasalla Medical Centre 36% 555 833 1388 Kensington Group Practice 25% 777 1175 1952 Snaefell Surgery 27% 490 730 1220 Hailwood Medical Centre 29% 705 1104 1809 Peel Group Practice 33% 937 1425 2362 Please quote the reference number 866165 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision.

More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely