Current Status

Information from the GP Patient Experience survey for 2010/11 shows that the proportion of positive responses for 48-hour access to an appropriate healthcare professional was 94.3 per cent (down from 94.5 per cent in the previous year), against a target of 90 per cent by 2010/11.

Information from the GP Patient Experience survey for 2010/11 shows that the proportion of positive responses for booking an appointment with a GP more than 48 hours in advance was 85.2 per cent (up from 84.5 per cent in the previous year), against a target of 90 per cent by 2010/11.

HEAT Target

Provide 48 hour access or advance booking to an appropriate member of the GP Practice Team by 2010/11.

A: 48-hour GP access and advance booking

Why is this HEAT target important?

Often a patient's first contact with the NHS is through their GP practice. It is vital, therefore, that every member of the public has fast and convenient access to their local primary medical services to ensure better outcomes and experiences for patients. From 2009/10 this target will cover 48 hour access and advance booking, and the related performance measure will be monitored through the results of a new survey, which directly measures patients' experience of getting access to primary medical services.

How are we performing?

Targets to be delivered by 2010/11

48-hr GP access

The performance measure for this target is measured by the GP Patient Experience Survey. Information from this survey for 2010/11 shows that the proportion of positive responses for 48-hour access to an appropriate healthcare professional was 94.3 per cent (down from 94.5 per cent in the previous year), against a target of 90 per cent by 2010/11.

NHS Board level performance is shown in the table below. All NHS Boards have a local target of 90 per cent.

Weighted 1 percentage of patients reporting they had access within 48 hours by NHS Board

NHS Board2008/092009/102010/11
NHS AYRSHIRE & ARRAN90.294.393.5
NHS BORDERS91.995.895.8
NHS DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY92.997.397.0
NHS FIFE85.693.393.0
NHS FORTH VALLEY85.393.592.7
NHS GRAMPIAN88.293.393.2
NHS GREATER GLASGOW & CLYDE90.494.994.8
NHS HIGHLAND92.996.496.4
NHS LANARKSHIRE86.593.192.7
NHS LOTHIAN89.694.594.3
NHS ORKNEY99.399.299.2
NHS SHETLAND93.496.795.6
NHS TAYSIDE94.795.595.4
NHS WESTERN ISLES94.297.197.1
NHSSCOTLAND89.694.594.3

1 Further information on weightings can be found in the GP Access Survey Results page.

Advance booking

The performance measure for this target is measured by the GP Patient Experience Survey. Information from this survey for 2010/11 shows that the proportion of positive responses for booking an appointment with a GP more than 48 hours in advance was 85.2 per cent (up from 84.5 per cent in the previous year), against a target of 90 per cent by 2010/11.

NHS Board level performance is shown in the table below. All NHS Boards have a local target of 90 per cent.

Weighted 1 percentage of patients reporting that they could book more than 2 days in advance, by NHS Board

NHS Board2008/092009/102010/11
NHS AYRSHIRE & ARRAN74.184.084.6
NHS BORDERS86.093.693.5
NHS DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY78.187.287.5
NHS FIFE75.485.686.5
NHS FORTH VALLEY73.481.482.9
NHS GRAMPIAN76.285.787.2
NHS GREATER GLASGOW & CLYDE77.786.287.2
NHS HIGHLAND83.590.090.5
NHS LANARKSHIRE69.379.379.6
NHS LOTHIAN74.484.484.8
NHS ORKNEY96.499.099.0
NHS SHETLAND86.885.478.5
NHS TAYSIDE68.177.278.2
NHS WESTERN ISLES87.192.892.8
NHSSCOTLAND75.484.585.2

1 Further information on weightings can be found in the GP Access Survey Results page.

Further Information

Better Together

48 hour access website

GP Access Survey Results

Related National Outcomes

Page updated: Tuesday, March 29, 2011