Andrew Griffith MP, Member of Parliament for Arundel & South Downs, held a meeting to present the findings of his survey on local healthcare provision to NHS Sussex Chief Executive Officer, Adam Doyle.
The Member of Parliament has conducted a detailed survey on NHS healthcare across his South Downs constituency, with questions focusing on ease of getting GP appointments, experiences in hospital and access to dentistry following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hundreds of local residents responded making it one of the largest surveys of its kind.
Although Mr Griffith was at pains to stress there was no criticism of hardworking NHS staff or GP practices, 58% of respondents had found it either difficult or very difficult to book an appointment at their GP by development by telephone. Whilst the majority of people were satisfied with their local healthcare services, more than half of respondents believed that the NHS provision had got worse over the last 5 years. The data also revealed the challenges of securing an NHS Dentist which is something the MP for Arundel and South Downs – the most rural constituency in West Sussex – has previously pressed Ministers on.
The survey remains open and can be accessed on the MP’s website.
Commenting after the meeting, Andrew Griffith MP said:
“I was pleased to share the results of my survey with NHS Sussex Chief Executive Adam Doyle. Whilst the vast majority of respondents have had good experiences with the NHS healthcare system, some have not, and it was rightly those issues that I discussed with Adam.
It is encouraging to hear that NHS Sussex are implementing a new system to assess capacity issues in GP surgeries, and they are hosting a meeting with all local dentistry providers to understand more about the barriers to offering new appointments.
Whilst we value those who work hard within our local GP surgeries and the NHS, there have clearly been real difficulties for some in the period following Covid.”
