A GP surgery in Basingstoke has been rated as the worst in the borough according to patients.

The Camrose, Gillies and Hackwood (CGH) Partnership was rated the worst in the town for ‘overall experience’ by the patients who took part in the 2022 GP Patient Survey for NHS England.

Read more: More patients seen face-to-face at Basingstoke GP surgery according to statistics

The survey asked the public for their views on their GP surgery in a range of different areas such as ease to get through on the phone; experience when making an appointment; and percentage of remote appointments.

At CGH, just 43 per cent of patients who took part in the survey said they had a good experience overall.

The surgery is owned by American health firm Operose, which last month featured on BBC Panorama when a reporter went undercover at a London surgery.

The programme reported that Operose has reduced the number of GPs by more than 50 per cent at CGH since it took over the surgery in 2020.

However, Operose has questioned these figures. 

The surgery also had the highest percentage of remote appointments, with 73 per cent of patients reporting that their appointment was not face-to-face in the survey. 

This was much higher than the other surgeries in Basingstoke, where there was a relatively even split between remote and face-to-face appointments.

The best GP surgery in Basingstoke was the Chineham Medical Practice where 82 per cent of those who took part in the survey said they had a good experience overall.

This was followed by Whitchurch Surgery with 79 per cent; Beggarwood Surgery with 73 per cent; and Crown Heights Medical Centre with 71 per cent.

When it came to getting through to surgeries on the phone, CGH was also rated worst in Basingstoke, with only 23 per cent of patients who took part in the survey saying it was easy to get through.

Beggarwood Surgery, which was taken over by Operose in February, was rated highest in this category in the borough, with 75 per cent saying it was easy to get through on the phone.

All surgeries in Basingstoke scored highly in the category of ‘having confidence and trust in healthcare professional’ with all receiving more than 80 per cent.

Chineham Medical Practice and Tadley Medical Partnership were rated joint highest in this category, with 97 per cent of patients saying they had confidence and trust.

CGH practice manager Claire Osbourne said: "We are working really hard to improve the experience of our patients based on their feedback.

"At a public event last weekend we heard directly from many patients on areas we need to improve and shared our latest plans and progress. 

"We talked through the changes we started in June which have already doubled the number of face-to-face appointments we offer. It is also easier to contact us now via our new Dr. iQ app, which has replaced the old e-Consult platform that patients told us they didn't like. 

"We know there is much more to do, especially to reduce waiting times on the phones, and we are making slow but steady progress. 

"Patients can read more about our recent changes on our website or in the latest Patient Participation Group update."

 

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