Figures have revealed the best and worst-rated GP surgeries in East Cambridgeshire, according to the patients who use them. 

The results of NHS England's annual GP Patient Survey for 2024 highlighted whether patients were happy with their surgeries after completing a questionnaire.

Patients were asked for their views on a range of topics, including making appointments, ease of making contact via telephone and confidence in the healthcare professional.

St George's Medical Centre in Littleport was rated best in the district for 'overall experience' with an approval rating of just over 97 per cent. 

Great Staughton Surgery was one of two surgeries to achieve a rating of 80 per cent or higher, which included Haddenham Surgery.

In fact, GP surgeries across East Cambridgeshire matched the national average for satisfaction approval ratings, with a score of 74.5 per cent compared to the 74 per cent rating taken from more than 6,000 surgeries across the country. 

At the other end of the scale, Priors Field Surgery in Sutton received the lowest overall satisfaction rating among patients, scoring 55 per cent.

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The next lowest-rated GP surgery was the Staploe Medical Centre in Soham, with 72 per cent of patients answering that they were satisfied with the service at the practice.

In total, only one surgery in the district fell below the national mark of 74 per cent. 

NHS England highlighted though that only a handful of patients completed the survey at some practices, so the figures may not reflect an entirely accurate picture of each surgery's performance. 

Across the topics covered, GP surgeries in East Cambridgeshire were ranked by patients as difficult to get through on the phone.

Only 27 per cent of patients at Cathedral Medical Centre found it easy to go through the phone to book an appointment, while 55 per cent at Priors Field Surgery expressed facing difficulty. 

Despite the low ratings in some aspects, the majority of patients were extremely confident in help provided by the GP receptionists, with an average of 88 per cent finding practice staff 'helpful'.

A spokesperson for NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough said: “We understand how important General Practice is to local people, as their GP practice is often their first port of call when they are worried about their health.

“Our GP practices are offering hundreds of thousands of appointments every month, and we are grateful for the commitment and dedication from GP teams across the area to their patients.”