Claude Haiku 5.5: How Ashgrove patients find online-first booking

Scorecard

The analysis

Findings

1. Practice manager's question: online-first is not clearly preferred across the registered population. Weighted to the age mix of adults, 45.0% would prefer to book by phone against 40.7% online. Unweighted, online is slightly ahead (46.2% vs 40.7%), but that lead comes from the 18 to 44 group, who are 44% of adults. Online-first cannot be presented to the partners as the patient preference.

   Medium confidenceBase 886

   Q6 by age: online 58.4% (18-44), 38.0% (45-64), 16.7% (65-74), 6.1% (75+); phone 29.9%, 49.0%, 63.0%, 72.7%. Weighting by registered-adult shares (44/32/13/11) gives phone 45.0% and online 40.7%. Stated future preference, not observed behaviour.

2. Older patients and patients with a disability strongly prefer booking by phone or in person. The gap is large and is the clearest finding in the survey.

   High confidenceBase 102

   Q6: 65-74 phone 63.0%, in person 14.8%, online 16.7%; 75 or over phone 72.7%, in person 21.2%, online 6.1%. Disability: yes, phone 50.0%, online 23.5%, in person 15.7%; no, phone 39.5%, online 49.1%. Age-band bases are 54 and 33, so these two bands are indicative; the 75+ result has a wide margin.

3. Among patients who tried to book, satisfaction is 50.8% overall, and it falls steeply with age. Online-first works for under-45s but not for over-65s. Satisfaction for patients aged 65 and over is 13 to 18%, and it is not a small-sample blip.

   High confidenceBase 549

   Q2 net satisfied: 18-44 64.7% (n=272); 45-64 44.0% (n=209); 65-74 17.8% (n=45); 75+ 13.0% (n=23). Overall 50.8% (n=549, 95% margin +/-4.2 points, simple random sample assumed). Weighted to the adult age mix: 46.3%.

4. GP partner's question: we cannot tell from this survey whether satisfaction has fallen since going online. The 71% from last year and the 50.8% now come from different modes, populations and denominators, so no change can be attributed to online-first.

   Low confidenceBase 549

   Last year: paper questionnaire handed out in the waiting room in October 2025, 412 returned, 71% satisfied (fairly or very). This year: text-invited online survey of adults with a mobile on record, 549 people who tried to book, 50.8% satisfied. Last year's sample was people physically in the building, and the denominator is unknown. The gap of about 20 points is large enough to take seriously, but it is confounded.

5. Slow replies to online requests are the most fixable barrier. Waiting too long for a reply is the most common reason people who needed an appointment did not book, and many open-text comments describe waits of one to five days. This is an operational problem, separate from the choice of channel.

   Medium confidenceBase 215

   Q5: 'I expected to wait too long for a reply' 43.7% of those who did not book (base 215; the multi-select columns sum above 100%). Open text: 45 of 246 comments ask for faster replies, often citing waits of 24 to 120 hours. Q5 is self-reported expectation, not measured turnaround.

6. A substantial share of patients need an appointment but do not try to book. Weighted to the adult age mix, this is roughly 4,400 registered adults in three months, so the practice should treat it as unmet demand, not as a satisfaction issue.

   Medium confidenceBase 886

   Q4: 24.3% of 886 said yes (about 215 people; 95% margin +/-2.8 points). Among those who tried to book, 17.1%; among those who did not, 35.1%. Weighted by age: 25.7%, or about 4,391 of 17,100 adults. Weighting uses the age-specific Q4 results; the 75+ band (n=33) is noisy.

7. The online request form is seen as too long, repetitive or confusing by a sizeable group, and this complaint is spread across ages and includes people with accessibility needs. Shortening it is a low-cost change that the decision-makers should make whichever channel option they choose.

   Medium confidenceBase 246

   37 of 246 open-text comments criticise the form's length, repetition or wording, or its accessibility, and several describe giving up part-way. Q5 'The online form is difficult to use': 16.7% overall, 27.8% of 65-74s and 27.3% of 75+ (small bases). Open-text coding is by the analyst, and comments are self-selected.

8. The PPG chair's question on women: we cannot conclude that women find booking harder. Women report 7.8 points lower satisfaction than men, but this is not statistically significant at the 95% level, and age is not controlled for.

   Low confidenceBase 540

   Q2 satisfied: female 47.5% (n=303), male 55.3% (n=237). Difference 7.8 points; standard error about 4.3 points; z of about 1.8, p of about 0.07. Age composition of the female and male subgroups is not reported, so age and sex cannot be separated.

9. The PPG chair's question on disability: satisfaction is lower among patients with a disability, and their preference for phone and in-person help is much stronger. The satisfaction gap is not statistically significant at this sample size.

   Low confidenceBase 549

   Q2 satisfied: disability yes 40.0% (n=65), no 52.3% (n=484); difference 12.3 points; z of about 1.9, p of about 0.06. Q6 is clearer: disability yes online 23.5% vs no 49.1%.

10. The PPG chair's question on interpreter need cannot be answered. Only 13 respondents said they need an interpreter, and the satisfaction table is not broken down by interpreter need. The two open-text comments from people who need one (A112, A756) both describe form difficulties and language barriers.

    Low confidenceBase 13

    Q10: 1.5% yes (13 respondents). Q6 for those 13: in person 61.5%, phone 23.1%, online 7.7%. Q2 has no interpreter column. Open text: A112 asks for the form in Polish; A756 asks for an Urdu speaker. Treat the 13-person result as directional only.

11. Phone demand is not confined to the three groups named in the options. Almost half of 45-64s prefer phone, and phone is the most-requested change in open text from every age band, including under-45s. Restricting phone to over-75s, disabled patients and patients with limited English would leave a large group without an option they want.

    Medium confidenceBase 337

    Q6: 45-64 phone 49.0% (n=337), vs 29.9% for 18-44. Open text: 97 of 246 comments (39%) ask for phone booking or a phone line, including 85 from patients under 65, and only 12 of the 17 comments from patients aged 65 or over ask for phone. Coding is by the analyst; comments are self-selected and not weighted.

12. The sample probably over-represents digitally confident patients, so the satisfaction and online-preference figures are probably too favourable to online-first. Patients without a mobile number on record, who are likely to be older, were not invited at all.

    High confidenceBase 886

    Only 58% of adults (9,840 of 17,100) have a mobile on record. Patients aged 65 and over are 24% of adults but 9.8% of respondents (6.1% + 3.7%). Response rate: 886 completes from 9,840 texts (9.0%); 1,046 started. Weighting by age corrects only part of this: it cannot correct for people with no mobile or who did not respond.

Open-text themes it coded

Wants to book by phone, or a phone booking line 97Online form too long, repetitive, confusing or hard to use 37Slow replies to online requests 45Wants a regular or known GP (continuity) 15Accessibility or support needs (disability, sight, hearing, learning disability, language, dexterity, cognition) 23Happy with online booking; no change needed 46No suggestion, don't know, or rarely uses the practice 31

The survey it planned

2 screening questions and 12 questions, as the model wrote them.

1. S1

   Are you aged 18 or over?

   One answer
   • Yes
   • No

   Continues if Yes

2. S2

   Are you registered with a GP at Ashgrove Medical Group?

   One answer
   • Yes
   • No
   • I am not sure

   Continues if Yes

3. Q1

   What is your age?

   One answer
   • 18 to 44
   • 45 to 64
   • 65 to 74
   • 75 or over
4. Q2

   Since April 2026, which of these best describes you?

   One answer
   • I have asked Ashgrove for an appointment
   • I needed an appointment but did not ask for one
   • I have not needed an appointment
5. Q3

   Do any of these apply to you? Select all that apply.

   Any that apply
   • I have a disability or long-term health condition that affects how I use a phone or the internet
   • I need an interpreter, or I prefer to communicate in a language other than English
   • I have difficulty reading or understanding written English
   • I have sight or hearing loss
   • None of these
   • Prefer not to say
6. Q4

   Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the way you have been able to ask for an appointment at Ashgrove since April 2026?

   Scale

   Scale 1-5: Very dissatisfied to Very satisfied

   Routing Shown only if Q2 is: I have asked Ashgrove for an appointment

7. Q5

   Thinking about your most recent request for an appointment, what, if anything, went wrong? Select all that apply.

   Any that apply
   • I could not complete the online form
   • I did not get a reply
   • The reply came too late for my needs
   • I could not get through by phone
   • The appointment offered did not suit me
   • I did not understand the reply
   • Nothing went wrong
   • Other

   Routing Shown only if Q2 is: I have asked Ashgrove for an appointment

8. Q6

   You said you needed an appointment but did not ask for one. What were the reasons? Select all that apply.

   Any that apply
   • The online form looked too difficult to fill in
   • I did not want to use the online form
   • I could not get through by phone
   • I did not know I could ask for an appointment online
   • I did not think the problem was serious enough
   • I got help elsewhere, for example from a pharmacy, NHS 111 or a hospital
   • I thought I would not get an appointment
   • Other

   Routing Shown only if Q2 is: I needed an appointment but did not ask for one

9. Q7

   How comfortable are you filling in an online form on a phone or computer?

   Scale

   Scale 1-5: Very uncomfortable to Very comfortable

10. Q8

    If you needed a GP appointment, how would you most like to ask for one? Put these in order, with your first choice at the top.

    Ranking
    • Online request form
    • Text message to the practice
    • Phone reception at a set time each morning
    • Phone reception at any time
    • Go in person to reception
11. Q9

    If you needed help to ask for an appointment, who would you want to help you? Select all that apply.

    Any that apply
    • A family member or friend
    • A member of reception staff by phone
    • A member of reception staff in person
    • An interpreter
    • A text message service
    • Other

    Routing Shown only if Q3 is: I have a disability or long-term health condition that affects how I use a phone or the internet; I need an interpreter, or I prefer to communicate in a language other than English

12. Q10

    Which of these would make it easier for you to ask for an appointment? Select all that apply.

    Any that apply
    • A dedicated morning phone line to reception for everyone
    • A phone line and in-person help at reception for people who need it
    • Help from a family member or friend to use the online form
    • Longer opening hours
    • A clearer idea of how long a reply will take
    • Booking information in more languages
    • Keeping online booking as it is
    • Other
13. Q11

    When the practice replies about an appointment request, how would you prefer to be contacted?

    One answer
    • By text message
    • By phone call
    • Either is fine
14. Q12

    Is there anything else you would like to tell the practice about asking for appointments?

    Open text