Best and worst GP surgeries in Copeland - as rated by patients

An NHS annual survey has revealed the most popular GP practices in and around Whitehaven according to the public.

The GP Patient Survey is an independent survey run by Ipsos on behalf of NHS England. The survey is sent out to over two million people across the UK.

Westcroft House Surgery in Egremont came out top of the list, taking the highest marks for overall experience.

It was voted for having some of the most helpful receptionists at a 95.98 per cent satisfaction rating, and ranked highly for ease of getting through on the phone and satisfaction with appointment times.

Fellview Healthcare scored the lowest for overall experience at 50.51 per cent. 

Just 3.02 per cent of those surveyed said said that they see or speak to their preferred GP, and 9.52 per cent said they had ease getting through on the phone.

Fellview Healthcare received some of the lowest ratings in Copeland in the survey (Image: Google maps)

All surgeries scored well when patients were asked how confident they were in the healthcare professional at their last appointment as they all scored 92.83 per cent or higher.

Patient opinions sought

Residents were asked for their opinion on a variety of elements with practices including:

• booking appointments;
• staff helpfulness;
• websites;
• quality of care given;

Results showed how 87.23 per cent of respondents at Distington Surgery; 80.82 per cent at Mansion House Surgery; 74.29 per cent of those surveyed at Seascale Health Centre; 59.80 per cent at Lowther Medical Centre; and 50.51 per cent of respondents at Fellview Healthcare all rated their overall satisfaction.

Distington Surgery was rated the second easiest surgery to get hold of over the phone, with 67.38 per cent of those surveyed saying the experience was ‘easy’, followed by Seascale Health Centre at 60.94 per cent.

Other GPs in this category attained lower scores such as Mansion House Surgery who averaged at 44.37 per cent. Lowther Medical Centre was second-to-last with 10.20 per cent.

There was much praise for the receptionists at Westcroft House Surgery and Seascale Health Centre with both scoring above 90 per cent on questions about staff helpfulness. Distington Surgery and Mansion House Surgery followed closely behind with scores above 85 per cent.

The questionnaire asked if practices' websites were easy to use. Distington Surgery received a score of 88.29 per cent putting it at the top spot.

Distington was a strong surgery in the results achieving second place overall (Image: Google Maps)

Westcroft House Surgery followed at 80.87 per cent and Mansion House Surgery at 74.61 per cent. Fellview was at the bottom of the list receiving 45.52 per cent overall.

Another category asked patients saw their preferred GP and most scores were low in this category. The highest was Westcroft House Surgery at 53.10 per cent. The other practices all scored 50 per cent or less, with Fellview Healthcare only achieving 3.02 per cent.

But perhaps these results show patients are not overly concerned about seeing a specific GP, as the highest scorers overall had some of the lower scores in this category.

Patients were also asked what the experience of making an appointment was like for them. Distington Surgery ranked at the top of the list with 70.19 per cent.

Westcroft House Surgery and Seascale Health Centre both scored within the 60 percentile range. Fellview Healthcare scored bottom of the list with 24.77 per cent.

What do the patients say?

When checking the latest reviews from a different location such as Google reviews, the scores appear reflective of these.

One user review of Fellview rated the practice one star.

Westcroft House Surgery appeared to be mostly 5 star reviews in recent reviews, but some older reviews had lower ranking.

Results not a trend

The results do not seem to follow a specific trend in line with the most affluent/deprived areas.

For example, according to the Copeland District Deprivation Summary by Cumbria Intelligence Observatory, Distington is one of the most deprived areas in Copeland, however Distington Surgery consistently placed high on the list, achieving second overall.

However, in contrast, Fellview Medical Practice has different sites across Copeland, one being in Cleator Moor, which according to the summary is in the seven most deprived areas.