The best and worst GP surgeries in Hyndburn revealed

Patients were invited to have their say in the GP Patient Survey of 2023 and the results have been revealed.

Dill Hall Surgery in Church Street, Accrington is rated best for ‘overall experience’ with a patient satisfaction score of 90 per cent – significantly higher than the national result of 71 per cent.

Nine out of 10 patients said they found it easy to get through to the GP practice by phone and 93 per cent found the receptionists at Dill Hall Surgery helpful.

The Weavers Practice in Water Street, Great Harwood came second ‘overall best’ surgery in Hyndburn with a satisfaction score of 81 per cent, a slight increase from last year’s score of 77 per cent.

Less than half (49 per cent) found it easy to get through to the Weavers Practice by phone but 93 per cent had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to during their last appointment and more than nine in ten felt their needs were met.

Dr Rachel Halstead, of Weavers Practice is delighted with the results of this year’s survey. She said: “We feel it reflects the dedication of all our staff over the last 12 months in what have been extremely challenging circumstances.

“We are particularly pleased that our hard-working reception team have been recognised for their helpful and caring attitude despite the highest level of demand for services seen in many years.

“There is no doubt that the unrelenting pressure primary care has been under the last 12 months has been demoralising for all staff and so to know that our patients value us as a service makes it all worthwhile.

“We will continue to review our service and try to improve patient access and quality of service.”

On the other end of the spectrum, Richmond Medical Centre was rated the worst for overall satisfaction with a score of 40 per cent.

Dr Ford or Richmond Medical Centre said: "Richmond Medical has been assessed as 'Good' by CQC inspectors in this last year. We provide a service for the people of central Hyndburn and the majority of Hyndburn patients from the South Asian population are registered with us.

"Our catchment area is entirely composed of Lancashire & South Cumbria priority wards due to deprivation. 

"Many of our patients have language and literacy problems, and as such, we generally have a very low response to surveys unless they are delivered face to face by a bilingual translator.

"We will continue to provide the best service possible for our patients and are always responsive to patient feedback."

PWE Accrington Victoria was the second lowest rated in Hyndburn followed by ARG Healthcare.

Dr Motupalli of ARG Healthcare in Blackburn Road, Accrington is disappointed with receiving an overall good rating of 59 per cent – the third lowest out of the 12 Hyndburn surgeries.

Despite the low rating for Hyndburn, ARG Healthcare, formerly known as Blackburn Road Medical Practice, was in the top 12 best GP surgeries in the whole of East Lancashire last year with an overall rating of 83 per cent.

Dr Motupalli said: “We’ve got 5,500 patients at this surgery and we’re one of the most deprived practices in the borough. That means we’ve got a lack of resources and underfunding but we don’t have a waiting list. We see every single patient.”

Dr Motupalli shared that he deals with difficult patients regularly and just last week, a patient racially abused him. The doctor says the surgery also receives hundreds of calls from the same patient which causes a lot of disruption.

The survey also revealed that 61 per cent of patients got to see their preferred GP some of the time, never or almost never.

Dr Motupalli added: “We are so pressurised. I work 10 hours a day minimum and when I’m not working, I’m picking up emails.

“We see every patient and we will triage every patient on the same day and provide an appointment within 48 hours depending on the need and what a patient needs and what a patient wants is different.

“My appointments are always full because patients want to see me so it’s difficult. We can’t do anymore than what we are. I can’t provide the same service as other GPs in less deprived areas, I have to work within my means and we’re struggling.”

The full list (Image: LT)

Dill Hall Surgery, Richmond Medical Centre, and PWE Accrington Victoria were approached for comments.