Comparison of key attributes of English general practices participating in the NCDA (N = 439) with non-participating practices
| Median (IQR) | P-valueb | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCDA participating practices | Non-participating practicesa | |||
| List size (number of patients) | 8318 (5370–11 174) | 6197 (3703–9528) | <0.001 | |
| % of patients ≥65 years | 16.9 (12.4–20.9) | 16.9 (12.1–20.9) | 0.697 | |
| % of patients ≥85 years | 2.1 (1.5–3.0) | 2.1 (1.4–2.8) | 0.055 | |
| Number of GPs | 6.5 (4–9) | 4 (2–7) | <0.001 | |
| Number of GP FTE | 5.6 (3.5–8.0) | 3.8 (2.0–6.1) | <0.001 | |
| Patients per GP FTE | 1466 (1253–1826) | 1673 (1337–2119) | <0.001 | |
| Patient experience (GPPS scores)a–f | Access | 85.0 (80.8–89.8) | 85.2 (80.7–89.2) | 0.671 |
| Continuity | 66.2 (58.6–73.7) | 67.8 (59.7–75.5) | 0.002 | |
| Doctor–patient communication | 82.7 (79.9–84.7) | 81.7 (78.7–84.2) | <0.001 | |
| Satisfaction with primary care | 84.7 (80.8–87.8) | 83.8 (80.0–87.0) | 0.001 | |
| Urgent (2-week-wait [TWW]) referrals for suspected cancer | TWW referrals for suspected cancer (per 100 000 population) | 2758.1 (2009.1–3315.0) | 2531.7 (1864.9–3278.6) | 0.0136 |
| % of TWW-referred patients found to have cancer (conversion rate) | 8.1 (6.3–10.4) | 8.1 (5.9–10.6) | 0.564 | |
| % of treated cancer patients who were diagnosed after a TWW referral (detection rate) | 47.5 (40.2–56.0) | 47.8 (39.1–56.0) | 0.737 | |
| n (%) | n (%) | P-valueb | ||
| Practice population IMD score | 1 — least deprived | 82 (18.7) | 1474 (20.1) | |
| 2 | 105 (23.9) | 1450 (19.8) | ||
| 3 | 111 (25.3) | 1445 (19.7) | <0.001 | |
| 4 | 85 (19.4) | 1470 (20.0) | ||
| 5 — most deprivedg | 56 (12.8) | 1499 (20.4) | ||
| Setting | Urban | 374 (85.2) | 6367 (85.7) | 0.792 |
| Rural | 65 (14.8) | 1067 (14.4) | ||
↵a Excluding practices with <1000 registered patients. The exact number of non-participating practices varies by the characteristic compared given different sources and operational definitions, but is generally >7000.
↵b From Mann–Whitney U-test.
c Based on GPPS item regarding ability to book an appointment.
d Based on GPPS item about ability to see a preferred doctor (among patients who express such a preference).
e Based on GPPS item about doctor’s interpersonal skills.
↵f Based on GPPS item about overall satisfaction with primary care.
↵g From χ2 test. FTE = full-time equivalent. GPPS = GP practice survey. IMD = index of multiple deprivation. IQR = interquartile range. NCDA = National Cancer Diagnosis Audit. TWW = 2-week wait.