Table 1.
Data sources and contribution
| Source, type of data, dates | Description of full dataset | Subset of data analysed for this article | Contribution and caveats of this data source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-site longitudinal case study of remote care in general practice (September 2021–December 2023)42 | 12 general practices (eight in England, two in Wales, two in Scotland) followed for 28 months. Ethnography, staff and patient interviews, and documents (annual reports, websites, leaflets). Data transcribed and coded in NVivo | Extracts from field notes, interviews, and documents in which quality domains (Box 1) were mentioned (∼150 pages of extracts) | In-depth ethnographic material providing rich insights into the functioning and priorities of modern UK general practice, covering a key 2-year period as practices transitioned to the ‘new normal’ |
| Stakeholder interviews (2021–2023)42 | Stakeholders in strategic roles at national and local level in England, Wales, and Scotland sampled from policy (arm’s length bodies, government, health boards), industry, training providers, and patient advocacy | Extracts from these interviews which covered key quality domains (∼120 pages total) | ‘Bird’s eye view’ provided by senior stakeholders and experts from across the UK, main emphasis on policymakers but also includes other sectors |
| GP Patient Survey for England (2023)50 | National survey of patients in English general practice, conducted by NHS England | Summary of findings on quality for practices across England 2021–2023 | Large and rigorous survey conducted annually. Limited to England and to specific questions asked |
| Online reviews by patients (2021–2023) | 209 online patient reviews from eight general practices in England, hosted on NHS practice websites (comparable data were not available in Wales or Scotland) | Extracts relevant to quality domains | Unedited dataset containing patient opinion and experiences of care. Unverifiable; may be biased towards poor experiences |
| Multi-stakeholder workshop on quality and safety (September 2022)42 | Online workshop with clinicians, national clinical leads, representatives from arm’s length bodies, practice staff, and lay people (n = 61). Plenaries and breakout groups recorded on video | Interdisciplinary discussions on quality. Video footage totalling 4 hours, transcribed into 11 pages of extracts | Diverse and nuanced discussions among a large number of participants from various sectors. Breakout groups facilitated the capture of a wide range of perspectives |
| English CQC state of care reports (2021–202251 and 2022–2023),52 plus inspection reports on two RBD2 practices | Annual assessment of the state of health and social care in England by the independent regulator. Health component covers specific questions in five domains: access to care, quality of care delivered, inequalities, workforce, and systems. Individual CQC inspections of two RBD2 practices | Extracts relevant to quality of care in general practice nationally and to the wider context in which care is delivered. Specific data on two participating practices | Data gathered from a wide range of inspection activity and internally validated by CQC. Limited to England. Data relate to areas of interest to CQC; they were collected for a particular purpose (regulation and formal monitoring) |
| Healthcare Safety Investigations Body report on continuity of care and delayed diagnosis (2023)53 | Official investigation into impact of continuity of care on time to diagnosis | Full report | In-depth report analysing the impact of poor continuity on safety in English general practice. Based on a single case and England only |
CQC = Care Quality Commission.