TWO of Wiltshire’s GP surgeries have topped and tailed the rankings in the latest NHS Patient Survey.

Westbury Group Practice rates amongst the poorest performing surgeries, whilst Mere is just one place away from the top spot for the whole region.

The survey asked around 11,000 patients of all ages from 16 up everything from how helpful the receptionist was, to how hard it was to get through on the phone.

The national UK average for combined fairly good and very good answers to the question was 82 per cent, a number that many Wiltshire GPs reached.

The percentage of patients who described their overall experience of these GP practices as good was 72% at Westbury, below the regional CCG average of 85% and the national average of 82%.

This compared to Mere’s patients giving it a 99% rating.

Trowbridge Medical Centre was somewhere in the middle at 79%.

Mere consistently out performed 93 other surgeries in the Bath, North Somerset, Wiltshire and Swindon CCG area.

100% of patients found it easy to get through to this GP practice by phone, had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to during their last general practice appointment, felt their needs were met during their last general practice appointment.

And 99% of patients here say the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at listening to them during their last general practice appointment, and that the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at treating them with care and concern during their last appointment.

This compared to 80% and 81% at Westbury, and 82% and 84% at Trowbridge.

Westbury scored poorly, with 55%, against the national average of 65% and local average of 75% with patients who thought it was hard to to through on the phone. Trowbridge only nudged ahead with 58%.

Patients who usually get to see or speak to their preferred GP when they would like to were only 29% happy at Westbury, compared to 30% in Trowbridge and 84% in Mere.

Receptionists seemed to keep people happy across the county. Westbury notched up a 94% score, with Trowbridge at 84% and Mere at 99%. All but Trowbridge were above the local and national average.

Only 29% of patients usually get to see or speak to their preferred GP when they would like to in Westbury, with 30% and 84% for Trowbridge and Mere respectively. The national average score was 45%, with the local average being 50%.

Surgeries where patients waited 15 minutes or less after their appointment time to be seen all hit above average scores.

No data is available for individual practices on what patients were seeking treatment for, but 12% had problems with physical mobility, and 18% took five or more medications regularly. 55% of patients had long term physical or mental illness with 19% accounting for back, and joint complaints and 17% high blood pressure.