Best and worst Oxfordshire GP practices - voted by patients

The NHS GP Patient Survey 2020 asked people a range of questions about their local surgery, covering everything from how easy it was to book an appointment and how helpful receptionists were, to the quality of care and how long-term illnesses were managed.

Across the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area, 21,392 questionnaires were sent out, and 7,518 were returned completed, giving a response rate of 35 per cent.

Patients gave their feedback between January and March, just ahead of the UK hitting the peak of the coronavirus outbreak.

Search the full list below and see where your GP practice ranks

Patients in general in the county were more satisfied with their practice than the national average, with 86 per cent describing their experience overall as either 'very good' or 'fairly good' compared with 82 per cent across the UK.

There was a wide gap between the top and bottom performers, however.

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Coming in first place on the list was Oxford's Luther Street Medical Centre, where an impressive 100 per cent of patients were pleased.

Mill Stream Surgery in Benson, near Wallingford, and Nettlebed Surgery in Henley, followed closely behind and were joint second with 98 per cent.

The majority of Oxfordshire's 68 GP surgeries managed to reach or exceed the 82 per cent national average but 16, including seven in Oxford, failed to make the grade.

Botley Medical Centre

In a repeat of 2019, bottom of the list for overall experience was Horsefair Surgery in Banbury with only 56 per cent of patients describing it as 'very good' or 'fairly good'.

It had improved slightly from last year's survey (52 per cent) but was still 10 percentage points below its nearest rival.

The lowest-rated in Oxford was Botley Medical Centre, which was ranked second from last, with a rating of 66 per cent satisfaction.

It follows a poor Care Quality Commission inspection at the centre in December which found it 'requires improvement', citing concerns over medication.

It said: "The practice did not always provide care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.

"The processes in place to manage prescribing of high-risk medicines were not operated effectively or consistently."

Another among the bottom practices was Oxford's 27 Beaumont Street, one of three GP practices which could soon move to Cornmarket under plans unveiled last week.

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Artist impression of the Northgate development. Picture: MICA architects

Along with King Edward Street Medical Practice and 28 Beaumont Street, it would form part of the £36m Jesus College redevelopment of Northgate House.

Opening as early as autumn next year, there would include a ground floor entrance from Market Street, with 27 consulting and treatment rooms in the basement and administration on the first floor.

A key concern for many GP patients in Oxfordshire was how easy it is to actually see their doctor and make an appointment.

The county again outperformed the national average for this question, at 74 per cent satisfaction compared with 65 per cent, but there were some which fell short.

Banbury's Horsefair Surgery once again came last with just 40 per cent of patients pleased with their experience.

Others below the national average included Witney's Nuffield Health Centre and Oxford's Hedena Health.

Other key findings included more than one in five (21 per cent) people in Oxfordshire feeling there was not enough support from their GP practice with managing long-term conditions, disabilities, or illnesses.

This was slightly better than the national average of 23 per cent.

Worst in Oxfordshire for this was St Bartholomews Medical Centre, off Cowley Road, where only a quarter (26 per cent) felt supported.

Julie Dandridge, head of primary care at Oxfordshire CCG, said the overall results showed that local GPs continued to deliver 'excellent care'.

She said: "We welcome the survey which, among other things, reveals we are performing better than the national average around the support for managing patients’ health conditions, ease of use of online services, good experience of making an appointment, helpful receptionists and recognition of mental health needs.

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"The findings also reveal that a high percentage of patients who took part in the survey found it easy to look for information or access online health services on practice websites.

"In addition, nearly half of the respondents knew they could book an appointment and order repeat prescriptions online."

Ms Dandridge added this digital awareness had been 'very helpful' in allowing patients to use virtual health services such as video appointments with GPs during the pandemic and it would play a bigger role in providing health care locally going forward.

On those surgeries, such as Horsefair and Botley, which had performed below average, she said: "The survey is also a useful indicator for how local patients feel about services provided at their GP surgeries which allows us to follow up with some practices and work with them to further improve services.”