The best and worst GP surgeries in Darlington have been revealed in the results of a new national survey.

Results of the GP Patient Survey 2022 have been revealed after patients were asked to fill in questionnaires about their experiences.

The survey measures how surgeries are rated across a range of topics, including how easy it is to get through on the phone, making an appointment, access to online services and overall satisfaction.

Read more: Revealed: The 10 worst GP surgeries in the North East

It has revealed the best and worst surgeries in Darlington with one scoring just 64%.

Carmel Medical Practice on Nunnery Lane, Darlington came out as the worst rated surgery in the town, with only 64% of patients saying they had a good overall experience.

Only 26% of those at the Nunnery Lane surgery said they found it easy to get through on the phone, while the same percentage said they usually saw their preferred doctor.

Darlington and Stockton Times: Carmel Medical Practice. Picture: GOOGLECarmel Medical Practice. Picture: GOOGLE

A spokesperson for the Carmel Practice told The Northern Echo: “We are extremely disappointed by these results.  We have made recent changes to try to meet the ever-increasing demand largely created by the covid backlog and rise in our practice list size of 1,131 new patients in last 6 years. 

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“Whilst changes have been made since the GP patient survey which won't yet be reflected in the results we do acknowledge that there is still room for improvement and we will continue to seek feedback from our patients with the aim of improving access to the practice.

“League tables are not an ideal way to judge services because there will always be someone bottom who may not be next time, but we are trying our best to provide a high quality service to our patients and reflecting on the results.”

Denmark Street Surgery came close behind with 67% of it’s patients rating their experience and only 30% saying it was easy to get through on the phone.

However, three Darlington surgeries were given a rating of over 90% by patients for their overall experience.

Rockliffe Court Surgery (92%), Orchard Court Surgery (93%) and St George’s Practice (93%) all came out on top as the best GP practices in the town.

A spokesperson for the Darlington Primary Care Network (PCN), which all 11 surgeries are part of, said: “GP practices in the town value this feedback as it helps both the practices and PCN identify where the areas for improvement are and what matters to our patients

“Practices are really trying to do their best and have the interests of their patients at the centre of their operations.

“There has been unprecedented demand over the last year-or-so and this demand is part of the increased number of phone calls from patients which reflects the increased pressure on GP services here and nationally.

“Access is one of the most important areas and it is one of several that are being worked on. On some of the telephone access issues there has been investment at some practices and intentions to invest more."

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