RESULTS of this year’s GP Patient Survey are in to reveal Bolton’s “best and worst” family doctors.

The GP Patient Survey 2020, carried out on behalf of NHS England, asked residents for their views on their doctors’ surgeries across a range of different areas to find out they feel about their family doctor.

In Bolton, 4,951 surveys were completed out of 19451 handed out.

The Bolton News:

Overall 82 per cent of patients described their GP practice as good, down by two per cent last year, but in line with the national average.

All surgeries were ranked on a number of measures including appointment waiting times, getting through on the phone and how doctors treat patients.

And patients were asked to rate their GP by overall experience.

(Scroll down to see the result of all GP surgeries in Bolton)

The Bolton News:

Pikes Lane 2, which consistently scores high in the annual GP Patient Survey was rated number one for overall experience, with a near perfect score of 97 per cent of patients rating the practice as good.

The surgery is known to its patients as Dr Manohar Murthi's Practice

A breakdown of the survey revealed that it was above average on every measure when compared to other practices in Bolton with 100 per cent stating it was easy to get through to surgery by phone.

Dr Murthi, who has been practising there since 1986, said: “We are a small practice who do our best to provide a good standard of medical service to all our patients. We are very pleased to hear that our patients are satisfied with the service we are providing and offer our sincere thanks to the whole team for their combined efforts who all continue to give their best despite the challenging circumstances.

"Coronavirus has dramatically changed the way we work. We are doing a lot more telephone and video consultations as well as seeing patients in the surgery when required."

The Bolton News:

Bottom of the table for overall satisfaction was Bolton Medical Centre, with a score of just 56 per cent.

Bolton Medical Centre, rated good by health watchdogs, received the lowest score in this survey.

In a statement the centre said: "We were extremely disappointed with the outcome of the patient survey for Bolton Medical Centre. With just 17per cent of our patients responding to the survey, we feel it does not reflect the valuable healthcare service that our practice gives to the local community by our dedicated and hard-working team.

"However we always take patient feedback very seriously and will be looking carefully at the specific reasons behind this score.

“Our surgery is rated as Good by the Care Quality Commission and in April it was given a 100 per cent score in the NHS Quality and Outcomes Framework, which highlights achievement of good practice in a range of measures. Last year, only 13% of practices in England achieved that score.

"In this survey, more than nine out of 10 patients felt their needs were met during their treatment. "However, we know patients have sometimes found it difficult to contact our busy reception on the phone, which contributed to this overall score.

"Since this survey was carried out we have implemented an online consultation service, giving patients internet access to our surgery 24 hours a day seven days a week. This gives our patients another way to contact us and also will allow quicker response times on our telephone system.”

The Bolton News:

The majority ­— 27 ­— of practices scored in line or better than the local and national average.

But at some barely 70 per cent of patients found their overall experience to be good. They included Stable Fold Surgery, Charlotte Street Surgery, Beehive Surgery, Great Lever Health Centre 1, Lever Chambers 1, Deane Clinic 1, and Bolton Medical Centre.

However, patient confidence in the medical staff was high at Stable Fold Surgery, with 99 per cent saying they had confidence in the person they saw. The same high level of trust was seen at Stonehill Medical Centre, Unsworth Group, Pikes Lane 2, with Egerton and Dunscar Medical Centre Edgworth Medical Centre scoring a perfect 100 per cent for trust and confidence.

Overall Bolton beat the national average when it came to getting though the practice on the phone ­—72 per cent said it was easy compared to 65 nationally.

And 66 per cent were satisfied with appointment times compared to 63 per cent nationally. But less than half of patients were able to see their preferred family doctor when they wanted, although 88 per cent said they felt they were treated with care and concern.

More than a third of patients,­ who were not able to take an appointment did not speak to any medical practitioner, with 12 per cent going to A&E.

RESULTS: Percentage of patients who rated their overall experience as good

The Bolton News:

PIKES LANE 2 97%

MANDALAY MEDICAL CENTRE 96%

EDGWORTH MEDICAL CENTRE 95%

PAGE-CROMPTON HEALTH CENTRE 94%

HALLIWELL SURGERY 2 94%

HALLIWELL SURGERY 1 91%

FIG TREE MEDICAL PRACTICE 91%

HALLIWELL SURGERY 3 91%

BOLTON COMMUNITY PRACTICE 90%

TONGE FOLD HEALTH CENTRE 90%

BURNSIDE SURGERY 90%

EGERTON/DUNSCAR HEALTH CENTRE 90%

FARNWORTH FAMILY PRACTICE 89%

DALEFIELD SURGERY 89%

ST HELENS ROAD PRACTICE 89%

KILDONAN HOUSE 88%

BRADFORD STREET SURGERY 86%

THE DUNSTAN PARTNERSHIP 86%

KEARSLEY MEDICAL CENTRE 86%

UNSWORTH GROUP PRACTICE 86%

DR MALHOTRA & PARTNERS 85%

LITTLE LEVER HEALTH CENTRE 2 84%

BOLTON GENERAL PRACTICE 84%

HARWOOD MEDICAL CENTRE 83%

DEANE MEDICAL CENTRE 83%

WYRESDALE ROAD SURGERY 83%

HEATON MEDICAL CENTRE 83%

STONEHILL MEDICAL CENTRE 80%

3D MEDICAL CENTRE 80%

SPRING HOUSE SURGERY 79%

THE ALASTAIR ROSS MEDICAL PRACTICE 79%

SWAN LANE MEDICAL CENTRE 78%

CROMPTON VIEW SURGERY 78%

LITTLE LEVER HEALTH CENTRE 1 78%

OLIVE FAMILY PRACTICE 76%

LEVER CHAMBERS 2 76%

CORNERSTONE SURGERY 75%

SPRING VIEW MEDICAL CENTRE 75%

ORIENT HOUSE MEDICAL CENTRE 74%

PIKES LANE 1 73%

AL FAL MEDICAL GROUP 70%

SHANTI MEDICAL CENTRE 70%

STABLE FOLD SURGERY 69%

CHARLOTTE STREET SURGERY 66%

BEEHIVE SURGERY 65%

GREAT LEVER HEALTH CENTRE 1 64%

LEVER CHAMBERS 1 60%

DEANE CLINIC 1 58%

BOLTON MEDICAL CENTRE 56%