One of the major aims of the recent UK government inspired changes in general practice based primary care was to enhance the quality of care provided for consumers. The aim of the study reported here was to see if these changes, specifically the implementation of the GP contract in 1990, has led to an improvement in the quality of general practitioner care, at least from the consumers point of view. Thus, a follow-up study was conducted to investigate whether changes had occurred in the attitudes of consumers towards primary care between 1988 and 1991. Baseline data was collected in 1988 from a random sample of adults in one health district in South East England, with the second study being carried out in the same area in September 1991. The results indicate that some changes in consumer satisfaction have taken place. In the area of access, for example, satisfaction increased with waiting times in the doctors' surgery (an important source of dissatisfaction in the 1988 study) and an improvement has also taken place with respect to the time taken to get an appointment for the treatment of an urgent condition. Similarly with regard to the doctor-patient relationship, satisfaction with the time available in the consultation and the amount of information given has significantly improved. However, the proportion of respondents who felt they could not discuss their personal problems with their GP remains fairly high (well over one-third) representing little change from 1988. Similarly, overall satisfaction with the GP remains high. Explanations for these changes are discussed.