Best and worst GP surgeries in Eden- as rated by patients

An NHS annual survey has revealed the most popular GP practices in and around Penrith according to the public.

The GP Patient Survey is an independent survey run by Ipsos on behalf of NHS England. The survey is sent out to over two million people across the UK.

Overall, Eden had some pretty big scorers but Glenridding Health Centre took the top spot with 98.28 per cent overall satisfaction rating.

Patients were asked to score receptionists, ease of getting through on the phone, easy to use websites, experience of making an appointment, and asked if at the last appointment how confident were you in the healthcare professional.

Glenridding Health Centre scored 100 per cent in each category.

Birbeck Medical Group scored the lowest overall, but in comparison to other areas it still did well (Image: Google maps)

Birbeck Medical Group scored the lowest for overall experience at 70.05 per cent. In comparison to Copeland's lowest scorer at 50.51 per cent, Eden medical groups fared better.

Birbeck's scores were brought down when patients were asked how often they see or speak to their preferred GP. They scored 22 per cent in this category, and 47.28 per cent for satisfaction with appointment times.

All surgeries scored well when patients were asked how confident they were in the healthcare professional at their last appointment as they all scored 90.44 per cent or higher.

Patient opinions sought

Residents were asked for their opinion on a variety of elements with practices including:

booking appointments;
staff helpfulness;
websites;
quality of care given;

Results showed how 82.54 per cent of respondents at Alston Medical Practice; 81.25 per cent at Appleby Medical Practice; 71.69 per cent of those surveyed at Upper Eden Medical Practice; 93.42 per cent of patients at Kirkoswald Surgery; 87.51 per cent at The Lakes Medical Practice; 95.21 per cent of patients at Court Thorn Surgery and 71.20 per cent of respondents at Temple Sowerby Medical Practice all rated their overall satisfaction.

Kirkoswald Surgery was rated the second easiest surgery to get hold of over the phone, with 96.71 per cent of those surveyed saying the experience was ‘easy’, followed by Alston Medical Practice at 95.68 per cent and Court Thorn Surgery at 94.62 per cent.

Other GPs in this category attained lower scores such as Birbeck at 49.02 per cent, Temple Sowerby Medical Practice who averaged at 63.25 per cent. The Lakes Medical Practice Centre scored 67.70 per cent.

There was much praise for the receptionists at groups other than Birbeck. Upper Eden Medical Practice, Appleby Medical Practice, Shap Medical Practice, The Lakes Medical Practice, Kirkoswald Surgery and Court Thorn Surgery all averaged above 90 per cent on questions about staff helpfulness. 

Westcroft House Surgery and Seascale Health Centre both scored above 90 per cent on questions about staff helpfulness. Distington Surgery and Mansion House Surgery followed closely behind with scores above 85 per cent.

Court Thorn Surgery scored second best overall (Image: Google maps)

The questionnaire asked if practices' websites were easy to use. Court Thorn Surgery came in second place and received a score of 94.18 per cent.

Another category asked patients saw their preferred GP and most scores were low in this category other than Glenridding Health Centre who scored 95.34 per cent. The lowest scorer was Upper Eden Medical Practice only achieving 18.99 per cent.

But perhaps these results show patients are not overly concerned about seeing a specific GP, as some of the highest scorers overall had some of the lower scores in this category.

Patients were also asked what the experience of making an appointment was like for them. Second place was, Shap Medical Practice with 90.11 per cent, and third place, Kirkoswald Surgery with 90.07 per cent.

Birbeck Medical Group and Temple Sowerby Medical Practice both scored within the 50 percentile range.

What do the patients say?

When checking the latest reviews from a different location such as Google reviews, the scores don't always appear reflective of these.

For example, Birbeck achieves a mixed bag of reviews - some rating it 5, as well as numerous 1 and 2 stars.

According to website, iWantGreatCare.com, Glenridding Health Centre appeared to be consistenly 5 star reviews.