THE BEST and worst GP practices in South Gloucestershire, according to their patients, have been revealed.

The annual GP Patient Survey assesses every practice in the country on a range of topics including waiting times, the quality of care given, opening times, how easy it is to make an appointment, and out-of-hours service.

South Gloucestershire saw a 48 per cent response rate, with 2,853 residents taking their part between January and March 2017.

The two surgeries with the joint highest satisfaction rating, rating their overall experience as “good” or better, were Almondsbury Surgery and Wellington Road Surgery in Yate with a very impressive 95 per cent.

Not far behind were Frome Valley Medical Centre in Frampton Cotterell, coming third with 94 per cent and St Mary Street Surgery in Thornbury with 92 per cent.

More than two out of three patients at each surgery gave at least a good rating, but only just, with Stoke Gifford Medical Centre getting the lowest satisfaction rating of 67 per cent.

Others that came in towards the bottom were Orchard Medical Centre in Hanham with 68 per cent, Coniston Medical Practice in Filton with 72 per cent, and both Dr Foubister and Partners – logged as “Thornbury Health Centre – Burney”, and West Walk Surgery in Yate, which both received a 75 per cent rating.

Overall South Gloucestershire just fell short of the national average of 85 per cent, achieving 83 percent overall.

The other surgeries to come in below the national average were Emersons Green Medical Centre, Cadbury Heath Healthcare, Northville Family Practice in Filton, Leap Valley Medical Centre near Pucklechurch, the Willow Surgery in Downend, Concord Medical Centre in Little Stoke and Pilning Surgery.

Confidence and trust in GPs was high across the board, matching the 95 per cent national average, ranging from 90-99 per cent, with Almondsbury again topping the pile alongside Frome Valley Medical Centre, Dr Foubister and Partners and Three Shires Medical Practice.

This high confidence also reflected in the nursing teams, with 98 per cent giving a positive response, marginally higher than the national average.

However, almost two out of five people in South Gloucestershire felt they waited too long for their appointments, as opposed to one in three nationally.

The Gazette is awaiting a comment from South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group.

Overall patient satisfaction ratings for South Gloucestershire GP practices:

1.  Almondsbury Surgery - 95 per cent

=  Wellington Road Surgery, Yate - 95 per cent

3.  Frome Valley Medical Centre, Frampton Cotterell - 94 per cent

4.  St Mary Street Surgery, Thornbury - 92 per cent

5.  Three Shires Medical Practice - 91 per cent

=  Close Farm Surgery, Warmley - 91 per cent

7.  Christchurch Family Medical Centre, Downend - 90 per cent

=  Thornbury Health Centre - Male - 90 per cent

9.  Courtside Surgery, Yate - 87 per cent

=  Kennedy Way Surgery, Yate - 87 per cent

11. Hanham Health - 86 per cent

=   Bradley Stoke Surgery - 86 per cent

13. Kingswood Health Centre - 85 per cent

14. Concord Medical Centre, Little Stoke - 84 per cent

=   Pilning Surgery - 84 per cent

16. The Willow Surgery, Downend - 83 per cent

17. Northville Family Practice, Filton - 81 per cent

=   Leap Valley Medical Centre, Pucklechurch - 81 per cent

19. Cadbury Heath Healthcare - 80 per cent

20. Emersons Green Medical Centre - 78 per cent

21. Thornbury Health Centre - Burney (Foubister) - 75 per cent

=   West Walk Surgery, Yate - 75 per cent

23. Coniston Medical Practice, Patchway - 72 per cent

24. Orchard Medical Centre, Hanham - 68 per cent

25. Stoke Gifford Medical Centre - 67 per cent