Changes to patient satisfaction survey requirements announced
COVID-19 update relating to this news story
Recognising the current challenges being experienced by pharmacies and the contribution of the pharmacy workforce to the COVID-19 vaccination programme, PSNC has reached agreement with NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Department of Health and Social Care that contractors will not be required to complete the Community Pharmacy Patient Questionnaire for 2021/2022 (announced on 15th December 2021).
The requirement that all pharmacy contractors must undertake an annual survey of patients using the Community Pharmacy Patient Questionnaire (CPPQ) has been changed. Contractors now have to undertake an annual assessment of patient satisfaction, but they do not need to use the CPPQ.
PSNC’s proposals for these changes to the requirements were agreed by NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) and the Department of Health and Social Care, and the detail is set out in updated Approved Particulars for the annual patient experience survey.
The new requirements mean contractors must still undertake a survey through which they obtain structured feedback on their patients’ experience of using the pharmacy’s NHS services (as a minimum Essential and Advanced), but contractors can now adopt a variety of methods for collecting that feedback, rather than having to use the CPPQ.
Each year, in advance of the start of the next financial year and by 31st December at the latest, NHSE&I will agree with PSNC up to three topics which all contractors must include in their collection of feedback from patients in the following financial year’s satisfaction survey. These topics are currently under discussion and the agreed list for 2022/23 will be published shortly .
Where contractors have already undertaken the CPPQ in 2021/22, in line with the former Approved Particular requirements, they will have met the requirements for 2021/22 and need take no further action. Where contractors have not yet undertaken the CPPQ in 2021/22, if they wish, they can now take a different approach, in line with the revised Approved Particulars, but they can also continue to use the CPPQ in 2021/22 to meet the contractual requirements.
From 2022/23, all contractors will be able to use the new, more flexible approach to seeking patient feedback.
Commenting on the reason for the changes to the requirements, Alastair Buxton, PSNC Director of NHS Services said:
“PSNC sought these changes to the requirements to address requests from contractors to have greater flexibility in the way they undertake surveys of patients’ experience of pharmacy services.
“They told us they wanted this flexibility so they could seek feedback which would provide better insights into what they could do to improve the experience of patients using their NHS services.”
Further information on the changes
For further information on the changes, contractors should read the updated Approved Particulars and visit the Patient Satisfaction Survey page on the PSNC website.
Download the updated Approved Particulars
Visit the Patient Satisfaction Survey page on the PSNC website
