Why was I sent a questionnaire?
You have been sent a questionnaire because you were randomly selected from all adult patients registered with a GP in England. About 2 million adult patients registered with a GP in England have been selected for the GP Patient Survey this year.
Why was I sent a text message?
Text messages are sent as reminders to take part in the survey, where mobile numbers are available. Each text message contains a unique link, which includes your log-in details. This will allow you to take part online without needing to enter your survey number or password.
Why haven’t I received a questionnaire? How do I get one?
The questionnaire is being sent to a random selection of people who are registered with a GP in England. To ensure the survey is valid, Ipsos MORI cannot send questionnaires to people who have not already been selected at random to take part in the survey.
I am not registered with a GP at the moment, should I still take part?
This survey is being sent to people who have been registered with a GP practice in the last six months. If you were registered with a practice during that period, even if you are not now, you may still take part. Please answer the questions about the practice you were registered with during that period (or most of that period) for the questions asking about your GP practice. For questions about general practice appointments (or other services), please think about anywhere where you have had a general practice appointment. This could be any general practice location, such as GP practices, or on other premises such as in "GP hubs" or health centres.
I have not contacted my GP recently, should I still take part?
Yes, you can still take part. If a question does not apply to you please select 'Doesn’t apply' (where included) or leave it blank. We have also included routing instructions to help you avoid answering questions not relevant to you.
I have not visited my GP practice in person recently (for example due to COVID-19 restrictions), should I still take part?
Yes, you can still take part. Changes were made to the questionnaire this year to reflect changes to primary care services as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. If a question does not apply to you, please select 'Doesn’t apply' (where included) or leave it blank. We have also included routing instructions to help you avoid answering questions not relevant to you.
My last GP appointment was with a locum – can I still take part?
Yes, you can still take part. Most questions are about general practice services as a whole, this includes appointments with a GP, nurse or other healthcare professional.
Who should I contact if I don’t want to take part?
Taking part is completely voluntary. We hope you will take part as this will give us the best possible picture of people’s experiences when they visit or call their GP practice.
If you do not want to receive any reminders about this survey, please send back a blank questionnaire in the Freepost envelope given. Or, you can contact Ipsos MORI’s survey helpline on Freephone 0800 819 9135 (8am to 9pm Monday to Friday; 10am to 5pm on Saturdays). You can also email Ipsos MORI at GPPatientSurvey@ipsos.com
Please be ready to provide your survey number, which you can find on the top of the letter and on the questionnaire.
Why have I received another questionnaire that asks similar questions?
There may be other surveys asking about similar things, but they are not the GP Patient Survey. We would still be grateful if you could take the time to fill this one in and return it to us.
Do you contact people in any other way to take part in the survey?
The GP Patient Survey is a voluntary survey that we send out by post. You may also receive text message reminders inviting you to take part in the survey. You can take part in the survey online or by calling our telephone helpline. No-one will approach you at home or by telephone to ask you to complete the survey. There will be a range of other surveys run by Ipsos MORI or other research companies at any one time, some of which may ask similar questions to those within this survey. If someone does say they are calling or visiting you specifically asking you to complete the ‘GP Patient Survey’, we strongly recommend that you do not speak to them or let them into your home, and that you contact the police.
If you have any further questions about the survey, Ipsos MORI has a Freephone survey helpline. Please call 0800 819 9135 (8am to 9pm Monday to Friday; 10am to 5pm on Saturdays).
How much are calls to 0800 numbers?
From July 2015, all calls to 0800 telephone numbers are free when made from a standard UK landline phone or mobile.
