Primary Care Trust Patient Surveys
The National Patient Survey programme has been operating annually since 2002 and is administered by the Healthcare Commission. The survey is mandatory for Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). The most recent survey was conducted in Spring 2008 with each PCT sending questionnaires to 1200 patients. An average response rate of 40% was achieved. While the main focus of the survey is on patients’ experiences of primary care services, the 2008 survey also asked a number of health and lifestyle-related questions including a question on how many times a week the participant eats the recommended five daily portions of fruit and vegetables.
- Methodology: Annual surveys conducted by PCTs with users of health services aged 16 and over
- Start date: 2002
- Frequency of survey: Annual
- Most recent return: August 2008
- Commissioned by: Healthcare Commission
- Coverage: 152 Primary Care Trusts in England
- Caveats: Limited precision of local estimates, unclear as to validity of Five a Day question asked in the survey, responses come from services users only and are therefore open to sampling bias Link to data source: http://www.healthcarecommission.org.uk/publicationslibrary.cfm?fde_id=995
- Link to associated papers: http://www.nhssurveys.org
