The GP practices with the most unhelpful receptionists in England named and shamed. Every surgery in the country ranked – so find out how yours fares
The GP surgeries with the most unhelpful receptionists in England are today named and shamed.
Find out exactly how yours fares with MailOnline’s new search tool, which ranks all 6,200-plus practices across the country.
Eight different factors are measured, including how helpful its receptionists are and whether it’s easy to book an appointment over the phone. All the scores are judged by patients themselves, with tens of thousands quizzed.
Just type in your postcode below to see how your surgery fares against the national average and neighbouring practices.
At Paradise Medical Centre, the Coventry practice which topped our league table of unhelpful receptionists, almost two-thirds of patients described admin staff as being ‘not very’ or ‘not at all’ helpful.
Coming second with the same score (64 per cent) was a clinic in Lewisham, London, which caters for patients refused treatment by others because of violent behaviour. Luton’s Kingsway and Bramingham Surgery ranked third (63 per cent).
Use our search tool below, or scroll down to the see the list of the 10 practices with the most unhelpful GP receptionists.
Nationwide, 17 per cent of patients think admin staff are unhelpful, the NHS ‘s annual GP Patient Survey found.
Technically, the worst on the list was the Essex University Partnership Trust outreach medical centre in Ipswich.
But instead of being a typical GP surgery, it is dedicated to vulnerable people, such as the homeless, with only 250 patients on its books.
Thirty-six practices scored a perfect 100 per cent – meaning no-one surveyed found their admin staff problematic.
As part of the same quiz, patients were also asked to rank specific aspects of how they access GP services, including ease of getting through on the phone.
Patients have for years complained about the ‘Glastonbury-esque’ morning rush to call their doctor and book an appointment before all slots are taken.
While half said it was ‘easy’ to get through on the phone, the performance of some practices was much lower.
The worst GP phone service, according to patients themselves, was at the Park Medical Centre in Hammersmith, London, where just four per cent said it was easy to book or get advice over the phone.
Similarly poor results are found at Sandgate Road Surgery in Folkestone, Kent and at the Central Surgery in Oadby, Leicester.
A spokesperson for The Central Surgery, Oadby, said: ‘Since the survey was carried out, which was well over a year ago, we have replaced our phone lines with a new system that enables patients to hold their place in the queue and receive a callback from the surgery, rather than having to physically wait on the phone line.
‘Patients can also go online to book their appointment, which then makes it easier for others to get through on the phone. We are also working on further improvements to patient access and this is showing positive results.
‘We are a forward-thinking practice and have been recognised by NHS England for the changes we have made. Patient care and satisfaction remains at the heart of what we do.’
Only 11 practices in England, serving around 28,000 patients between them, had 100 per cent of patients surveyed rate the telephone access to their GP as ‘easy’.
Nationwide, the survey also showed that 26 per cent of patients were unhappy with the overall service provided by their GP.
Yet this jumped to 75 per cent for the Special Allocation Scheme (NEL) in Lewisham.
The practice caters for those who have been refused treatment by other surgeries due to violent behaviour.
Overall, the worst major practice was the Black Country Family Practice in Tipton, in the West Midlands. There, more than 71 per cent of its patients rated it poorly.
Not all GP practices will be included in our analysis, as some practices with multiple branches will only have the head office listed.
The 2024 results of the NHS survey included responses from nearly 700,000 adults.
