Patients in Norwich are being invited to give their views in a survey being launched today by OneNorwich Practices who support the 22 practices in Norwich.

Dr Jeanine Smirl, a Norwich GP and also board member and clinical lead at OneNorwich Practices said “ To ensure our Norwich practices are fully equipped for the next stage of the journey we are inviting patients views on the way we currently deliver services. As part of the survey our patients are invited to give their views on how likely they would be to use appointments in the mornings, evenings and at weekends as well as the type of services they’d like to see at these times. 

We will use their feedback along with other evidence and national guidance to help us look at expanding the number of appointments, services, and the times of day that these can happen in practices across Norwich”

 Janka Rodziewicz, Chief Executive at OneNorwich Practices said “General practice is the bedrock of the NHS. The NHS has always relied on its resilience. Its importance and value have once again been demonstrated during the pandemic response. Our GP surgeries, have shouldered the lion’s share of the COVID-19 vaccination programme alongside their existing workload. They have also provided more appointments for patients in Norwich than in the equivalent period before the pandemic, although it may not appear so in surgery waiting rooms, given social distancing requirements.

 In the main, our general practice teams have never been busier. However, at the same time, it is true that patients’ ability to access primary care is often not meeting their needs. We are seeking to improve this, and would like to ensure that going forwards all of Norwich’s 240,763 patients have equal access to services at a time and place that suits them. Please spend 5 minutes of your time to answer our survey”.