The experiences of people living with disability accessing primary healthcare.

Download the full research report here.

 

General Practitioners (GPs) perform a crucial function in the provision of primary healthcare to people living with disability in our community, with reliance on this support continuing to grow.

A survey exploring the experiences of people living with disability accessing their local GP service was distributed via South Australian disability community networks in May 2009. Based on the 52 responses, the results highlighted that in general people living with disability were satisfied with GP services. However, a range of concerns and issues were raised about the challenges people faced when visiting their GP, highlighting the need for further work to improve access to GPs.

This report discusses the survey findings in terms of how GPs can enhance the quality of service they provide to people living with disability. The key considerations focused on:

• improving GP clinic awareness about physical access obligations;

• increasing GP knowledge and experience about disability and how to effectively communicate with people living with disability;

• finding out more about the barriers that prevent people from accessing their GP of choice. These considerations are a useful focus for further work in the area.