Evidence mapPaperPMID 40107729Full record

SynthesisThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2025

What patients want from access to UK general practice: systematic review.

Helen Atherton, Helen Leach, Rob Mortell, Joanne Parsons

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Access to general practice.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Helen AthertonPrimary Care Research Centre, University of Southampton, Aldermoor Health Centre, Southampton, UK h.atherton@soton.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0002-7072-1925
Helen LeachWarwick Medical School, Coventry, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-0502-9844
Rob MortellYeovil District Hospital, Yeovil, UK.ORCID 0009-0003-1905-8827
Joanne ParsonsCentre for Evidence and Implementation Science, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-6542-8492

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAccess to general practice is a topical concern, with rising numbers of consultations and decreasing numbers of GPs placing strain on the service. Patient satisfaction with general practice has seen a reduction in the UK. While patient experience with general practice is well understood, there is a need to understand what patients say they want from access to general practice.

aimTo examine what patients want from access to contemporary general practice in the UK. DESIGN AND

settingThis was a systematic review set in UK general practice.

methodStudies were included that reported patient wants in relation to access to general practice in the UK since 2010. All empirical study designs were included, both quantitative and qualitative. The mixed-methods appraisal tool was used to assess study quality for contextual purposes. Narrative synthesis was applied to the included studies, with results presented using tables and text.

resultsIn total, 33 studies were included. The review showed that patients wanted information about how to access the general practice, choice of clinician, choice of healthcare professional type, and choice of consultation mode. Patients wanted a nearby practice, with clean waiting rooms, easy appointment booking using simple systems and with short waiting times, and to be kept informed about the process.

conclusionThe factors that patients want should be taken into consideration when changing or developing approaches to access. Future evaluations of care, and research, should explicitly consider what patients want from access in general practice.

Indexed as

General PracticeHealth Services AccessibilityPatient SatisfactionAppointments and SchedulesHumansUnited Kingdomaccess to primary caregeneral practicehealth services accessibilitypatient experienceprimary health care

Identifiers

PMID40107729
PMCPMC12729050

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.