NHS GP Patient Survey 2023: every doctor’s surgery and practice in England rated – find how yours compares

Patient satisfaction with GP practices is at its lowest since current records began, new figures reveal.

The latest GP Patient Survey, produced by Ipsos on behalf of NHS England, asked people across the country what they think about their local GP surgery. It surveyed 2.7 million people between January and April 2023 and had a response rate of 29%.

The results show 14.2% of respondents were unhappy with the overall experience provided by their local doctor’s surgery – the highest rate in six years and 0.6 percentage points greater than last year when 13.6% said they found their experience either fairly poor or very poor.

Almost three quarters (71.3%) had a positive experience of their GP surgery, saying their overall experience was either ‘very good’ or ‘fairly good’ – the lowest rate in six years. In addition, 14.5% said their experience was ‘neither good nor bad’. You can see how your GP compares further down this article.

Health experts at the British Medical Association (BMA) said that GP practices are under huge pressure and struggling to cope with demand. The government said it is committed to increasing capacity so GPs can offer more appointments to patients.

The best GPs in England

Hundreds of surgeries were found to have high approval ratings, according to patients surveyed. In total, 628 out of the 6,418 GPs (10%) included in the data had 90% or more of respondents rating them as either very good or fairly good overall.

Across England nine GP surgeries scored 100% positive scores from patients. These were:

1. The Royal Mews Surgery in the London Commissioning Region
2. Great Chapel Street Medical Centre in the London Commissioning Region
3. Brown Clee Medical Centre in the Midlands Commissioning Region
4. Lapworth Surgery in the Midlands Commissioning Region
5. Rockliffe Court Surgery in the North East And Yorkshire Commissioning Region
6. Reeth Medical Centre in the North East And Yorkshire Commissioning Region
7. Homeless Healthcare Team in the South East Commissioning Region
8. Redfern Health Centre in the South West Commissioning Region
9. Caldbeck Surgery in the North East And Yorkshire Commissioning Region

Not all GP surgeries scored as highly, however. In total three surgeries had an approval rating of less than 20%.

How does your local GP compare?

You can find out how your GP surgery compares with others in the local area by using the interactive table below.

If you cannot see the table below click here to view it in a new tab.

‘Practices are struggling to copy with demand’

Commenting on the GP Patient Survey, Dr Richard van Mellaerts, BMA England GP committee deputy chair, said:

“These findings are - despite the huge pressures practices are under – testament to the hard work, professionalism and dedication of GPs and their teams.

“In the face of enormous challenges, the fact that nearly three-quarters of patients report having a good or very good experience is a huge achievement by practice teams, and with an overwhelming majority also saying they have confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw underlines how highly patients value their local GP and practice. Unfortunately ministers and policymakers don’t value them in this way.

“A persistent failure to get a grip on the recruitment and retention crisis in general practice – which has seen the number of full-time equivalent GPs falling by 2,000 in England since 2015 and the number of patients per GP balloon by almost 20% - means practices are struggling to cope with demand, as underlined by some of the findings in this survey around patients’ struggles in making appointments.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We know how vital GPs are to local communities and we’re committed to increasing capacity so GP practices can offer more appointments from more staff than ever before.

“Appointments are already on the rise, and we recently announced £240 million of support to practices across the UK to embrace the latest technology, tackle the 8am rush and make it easier for patients to see their GP.

“The NHS has also published the first ever Long Term Workforce Plan, to deliver the biggest training expansion in NHS history and recruit and retain hundreds of thousands more staff, including primary care staff, over the next 15 years.”

An NHS England spokesperson added:  “While GP teams are experiencing record demand for their services - delivering half a million more appointments every week compared to before the pandemic, this survey has found that the majority of patients have a good overall experience at their GP practice.

“The NHS recognises that more action needs to be taken to improve access for patients and so launched a new plan in May – after this survey was carried out - to boost services with more help available at local pharmacies, more options to self refer and greater use of technology to end the 8am ‘rush’ for appointments."