Relational continuity and patients' perception of GP trust and respect: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Despite the benefits of relational continuity of care, particularly for patients with multimorbidity, the traditional model of continuity is changing. Revisiting what patients with ongoing problems want from relational continuity could encourage initiatives to achieve these within a modern healthcare system. AIM: To examine the attributes of GPs that patients with long-term conditions value most, and which attributes patients believe are facilitated by relational continuity. DESIGN AND
SETTING: Qualitative study in UK general practice.
METHOD: A thematic analysis was carried out, based on secondary analysis of interviews with 25 patients with long-term conditions that were originally conducted to inform a patient-reported outcome measure for primary care.
RESULTS: Patients with long-term conditions wanted their GPs to be clinically competent, to examine, listen to, care for, and take time with them, irrespective of whether they have seen them before. They believed that relational continuity facilitates a GP knowing their history, giving consistent advice, taking responsibility and action, and trusting and respecting them. Patients acknowledged practical difficulties and safety issues in achieving the first three of these without relational continuity. However, patients felt that GPs should trust and respect them even when continuity was not possible.
CONCLUSION: Policy initiatives promoting continuity with a GP or healthcare team should continue. Many patients see continuity as a safety issue. When patients experience relationship discontinuity, they often feel that they are not taken seriously or believed by their GP. GPs should therefore consistently seek to visibly demonstrate trust in their patients, particularly when they have not seen them before. © British Journal of General Practice 2020.