GP Patient Survey reveals best and worst surgeries in Dudley

Northway Medical Centre in Sedgley was rated the highest in the Dudley borough area, scoring the best overall rating with 93 per cent of patients surveyed rating their experience of the practice as good.

Bean Medical Practice, in Dudley, scored the lowest for overall experience with 54 per cent of patients who took part in the annual GP Patient Survey saying they had a good experience.

The survey aims to shine a light on how GP surgeries across Dudley and the country were viewed by patients between January and March this year.

GP patients were asked for their opinion on issues such as how easy it is to book an appointment or see their preferred GP, the quality of care and service provided, and how easy it is to contact the surgery or secure an out-of-hours appointment.

Of those asked about Bean Medical Practice, 30 per cent rated their experience as fairly poor or very poor, with just over half (53 per cent) giving it the thumbs up and rating is as very good (26 per cent) or good (27 per cent).

Northway Medical Centre in Sedgley (Image: Google)

At the top-rated Northway, 66 per cent of patients rated their experience as very good, with just four per cent saying it was either fairly poor or very poor.

108 surveys were returned out of 298 distributed to glean patient satisfaction at the Northway (a 36 per cent response rate), while only 99 surveys were returned out of 661 distributed to obtain information about Bean Medical Practice in Bean Road – so the answers were based on a response rate of just 15 per cent.

The surgery topping the rankings for ease of access when it came to contacting the GP practice by phone was Castle Meadows Surgery at Milking Bank, Dudley, where 88 per cent of patients rated it as easy to get through, with the Northway just behind with 78 per cent.

Bean Medical Practice also scored the lowest in this category too, with just 22 per cent of patients rating it as easy to contact the surgery by phone.

Bean Medical Practice in Dudley (Image: Google Street View)

St James Medical Practice 1 was rated highest for patients being able to speak to their preferred healthcare professional – with 82 per cent saying this was always or almost always the case.

At the other end of the scale, just 16 per cent of patients surveyed at Woodsetton Medical Centre said they always or almost always saw their preferred healthcare worker.

104 out of 423 surveys were returned by patients of St James Medical Practice 1 (a 25 per cent response rate). At Woodsetton 91 out of 340 surveys were returned (a response rate of 27 per cent).

The Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) is responsible for commissioning NHS GP services in Dudley.

In this ICB area the average percentage of people rating their overall experience of a GP practice as good was 68 per cent, while the national average was 74 per cent.

The average percentage of people who found it easy to contact a GP practice by phone was 44 per cent in this ICB area and 50 per cent nationally.

Sarb Basi, director of primary care for the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board, said of the survey: “Hearing from patients is one of the most important indicators of whether patients’ needs are being met by local NHS services.

“Each practice will have received their own survey results, and it is the ICB's expectation that they will use this feedback to form any improvements they may need to make.

“We will also review which practices need more support in these areas, as well as those who have performed well, so we can share the learning widely.”