It’s a challenging time of year for the healthcare system. Flu cases in hospital have already hit last year’s peak, norovirus cases are rife and the NHS has warned about a “quad-demic” of illnesses over the festive season.
Despite the pressures, it appears that the vast majority of us are already happy with how our local practice operates, according to the latest GP Patient Survey, produced by Ipsos on behalf of NHS England.
Almost 700,000 patients in England completed the 2024 survey, which gathers information on how patients feel about their local GP. It reveals the best and worst surgeries in North West and beyond.
Across the country, the majority of patients described the overall experience as ‘very good’ (37.1%) or ‘fairly good’ (30.2%).
Not everyone is as happy with their local practice though — 9.4% said their overall experience was ‘fairly poor’ and 9.5% described it as ‘very poor’. The survey was carried out between January 2 and March 25.
Here we reveal the GP practices in North West which were voted the best by you. Surgeries are ranked by the proportion of patients that said they were ‘very good’.
1. Cartmel Surgery, Haggs Lane, Cartmel
There were 224 survey forms sent out to patients at Cartmel Surgery, Haggs Lane. The response rate was 52%, with 116 patients rating their overall experience. Of these, 97% said it was very good and 2% said it was fairly good. | Google Maps
2. St Werburgh's Medical Practice for the Homeless, Chester
There were 287 survey forms sent out to patients at St Werburgh's Medical Practice for the Homeless in Chester. The response rate was 5%, with 13 patients rating their overall experience. Of these, 97% said it was very good and 3% said it was fairly good. | Google Maps
3. Slaidburn Health Centre, Townend, Slaidburn
There were 212 survey forms sent out to patients at Slaidburn Health Centre, Townend. The response rate was 47%, with 98 patients rating their overall experience. Of these, 91% said it was very good and 6% said it was fairly good. | Google Maps
4. The Surgery, Wrenbury Medical Centre, Wrenbury
There were 248 survey forms sent out to patients at The Surgery, Wrenbury Medical Centre in Wrenbury. The response rate was 42%, with 104 patients rating their overall experience. Of these, 90% said it was very good and 9% said it was fairly good. | Google Maps