Exclusive GP practices scored highest on being ‘compassionate and inclusive’ in the first-ever NHS staff survey in general practice.
Last year, NHS England extended the annual NHS Staff Survey – which covers all trusts in England – to general practice for the first time.
Only 21 out of 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) signed up to the voluntary rollout, and NHSE told Pulse that national results will not be published as they were released to each participating practice and PCN individually.
Pulse has now seen documents which reveal that the General Practice Staff Survey (GPSS) received responses from over 18,200 GP practice staff, which represented 16% of the total eligible workforce population in the 21 ICBs.
Across all metrics, the national aggregate score was higher in general practice than the average across all trusts – however, NHS England emphasised that individual scores ‘cannot be directly compared’ due to differences in methodology and weighting.
The documents also revealed that 34 ICBs have signed up to roll out the 2024 survey in general practice, which is expected to go live in October with results available in spring next year.
NHS England has said the aim of the GPSS is to provide ‘standardised, comparable, actionable staff experience data’ to general practice for the first time.
As well as supporting retention, NHSE said this is also a ‘critical step’ towards implementing the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) in primary care.
The WRES, which is a requirement for all NHS trusts, provides specific data on the experiences of black and minority ethnic (BAME) staff members, with the goal of ensuring equal access and fair treatment.
GPSS and NHS Staff Survey results 2023
| Promise/Theme | General practice national aggregate | NHS Staff Survey national average |
| We are compassionate and inclusive | 7.82 | 7.30 |
| We are recognised and rewarded | 6.05 | 6.00 |
| We each have a voice that counts | 7.39 | 6.72 |
| We are safe and healthy | 6.46 | – |
| We are always learning | 6.36 | 5.64 |
| We work flexibly | 6.64 | 6.28 |
| We are a team | 6.92 | 6.80 |
| Staff engagement | 7.48 | 6.89 |
| Morale | 6.46 | 5.95 |
When sharing the average score data with ICBs, NHS England said: ‘Individual scores cannot be directly compared between the GPSS and NSS, due to differences in years, methodology, weighting, occupational groups etc.
‘Additionally, the GPSS is still voluntary with 21 ICBs offering the chance to participate in 2023. 2023 national GPSS scores therefore act as an indicative baseline.’
NHSE encouraged PCNs and practices to use the staff data throughout the year to ‘understand and measure the working experiences’ of their staff and to ‘inform improvements and cultural change’.
The questions posed by the survey are similar to the NHS Staff Survey, however NHSE stressed that it is a ‘bespoke version’ which ‘recognises the complexities within general practice’.
ICBs taking part in 2024 GP staff survey
