Is it normal for an NHS doctor to ask you to leave them an online review

[Deminism]

I had an appt recently with an NHS hospital doctor for an ongoing health condition. He has been brilliant. He was the first doctor I have seen who listened, ordered tests and rang me with results and also a v quick appointment so I could go and get a new prescription for the change on drugs. All good. But as I was leaving he asked whether I could leave him an online review on a specific website “as it is coming up to appraisal time”.

He then followed it up a week later with a text to see how the medication is working for me and to remind me to leave a review.

I am v happy with him as a doctor but is this normal? It is not an NHS site so I wonder if it is an attempt to build up clients for a private medicine practise. If I leave a review it will be good but it doesn’t feel right reviewing a doctor like I would a product on amazon and also I don’t want to feel bad next time I see him if I don’t leave a review.

Patient feedback is part of every doctor’s revalidation process. Where I work (hospital) it’s on paper but i guess some places may be more technologically advanced and use online systems too. It’s usually a load of rather bland questions with boxes to tick & a bit of free text iirc (it’s a while since I last did mine). You don’t have to agree to complete it if you don’t want to.

No, it's completley normal practice.

Yes it's normal and part of their 360 degree feedback process for appraisal etc. You don't have to do it, but if you feel you want to, it's usually a very straightforward process and you could literally cut the beginning of your OP out and paste that in as free text.

Is it careopinion? We asked patients/relatives to use that on the ward I used to work on , and at appraisal time we did have doctors ask directly for feedback . Named feedback from colleagues, patients etc is vital for appraisals, revalidation etc .

It's a requirement for revalidation to have had at least one round of patient feedback.

Unfortunately this is the case in nhs services. They can't measure patient satisfaction otherwise apparently

Theres been a drive by matron in our dept to push these forms on patients to fill I about services. I don't give them out if I can help it, it feels like you're asking for compliments. I try and treat everyone well.

It isn't a valid measurement though in my opinion unless you force every patient to write one and then you can't influence their responses...

If you dont mind doing it for the dr and you were happy with their treatment then I would urge you to do it, it will be one less thing for him to stress about before ehis appraisal.

My GP asked me to when that iwantgreatcare website was new. I was quite pleased to be asked actually - he’s been very good to me and it was a little chance to pay him back for that. I wrote his first review - I know he picked me to ask because he knew I would say nice things about him, but still! I dare say he is used to asking people now, but it was quite a big deal for him then.

I still feel it’s a bit weird to rate doctors like hotels or amazon products, but such is the way of the world these days.

I've done it before now for my GP and the practice nurse... Both are really helpful so was happy to do so.

Very aware that doctors do the best they can, can't always get it right, have to make a judgement call and must get the occasional complaint.... So more than happy to balance it out.

It’s not an nhs feedback form though it is an independent site named above (wewantgreatcare)

You said yourself the consultant has been brilliant. They need this information for revalidation. It's not asking much of you is it?

We want great care is used in many NHS trusts to measure feedback- so yes a v normal request. Often clinicians are mandated to request feedback by their management.