Background. The use of the telephone to deliver health care advice has incr
eased considerably in recent years. Little research has been carried out to
explore the experience of patients who receive such advice and its accepta
bility.
Objectives. The aim of this study is to describe the expectations of patien
ts, or third party callers, who had contacted a GP out-of-hours co-operativ
e and their satisfaction with telephone advice received.
Methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by telephone 7-10 days a
fter contact with one inner city GP co-operative.
Results. A total of 47 telephone consultations were followed up with an int
erview. Of these, 23 (48.9%) callers had expected to be offered a home visi
t when they called. Reasons for wanting a home visit were either to do with
the nature of the condition and its perceived severity, problems in being
able to attend the primary care centre and the risks of travel, or because
of problems in communicating over the telephone. Satisfaction with telephon
e consultations centred mostly on the doctor being able to provide reassura
nce and give adequate time to allay concerns. The most common reasons given
for dissatisfaction were the caller feeling that the doctor could not make
a correct diagnosis without having seen the patient, or the caller being m
ade to feel that they were wasting the doctor's time. Many patients were an
xious about their ability to describe symptoms over the telephone, or under
stand and follow the advice that they received.
Conclusions. There appears to be a need for patients to be better informed
about the service they can expect to receive from GP co-operatives. Recent
developments such as NHS Direct may have an influence on the telephone cons
ultation rate to GP co-operatives.