Every year, the NHS asks patients about their overall care, getting through to their surgery, reception staff and what happens next.

Latest figures for the Andover Primary Care Network show high satisfaction overall but sharp differences in how quickly patients get answers and appointments.

Adelaide Medical Centre (Image: Google)

St Mary’s Surgery and Adelaide Medical Centre are joint top for overall satisfaction.

At St Mary’s, 94 per cent rate their experience as “good” or “very good”: 56 per cent say “very good” and 38 per cent “fairly good”.

Adelaide also scores 94 per cent for “good” or “very good”, with 58 per cent saying “very good” and none saying “very poor”.

Adelaide ranks in England’s top 5 per cent, at 294th out of 6,174 surgeries, and is 10th of 143 in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care System, making it joint top in Andover among the town’s five surgeries.

Charlton Hill Surgery follows close behind, with 88 per cent reporting a good overall experience.

Some 53 per cent rate their experience “very good”, while 34 per cent say it is “fairly good”.

The Andover Health Centre Medical Practice scores 82 per cent for “good” or “very good”; Shepherds Spring Medical Centre is lowest in town on 66 per cent, with 13 per cent rating it “fairly poor” or “very poor”.

National GP Patient Survey data is broken down by practice, so patients can compare their own surgery.

Patients can access the GP Patient Survey by postcode or practice name for scores on care, access, reception staff and continuity by searching gp-patient.co.uk/

The survey also shows how quickly surgeries tell patients what happens next after they get through.

At Adelaide, 98 per cent of patients who got through and remembered the outcome knew the next step, while three-quarters, or 75 per cent, were told the same day, most immediately.

At St Mary’s, 92 per cent knew what would happen next and 88 per cent were told the same day, usually immediately.

Charlton Hill is close behind: 93 per cent knew the next step and 82 per cent were told immediately or later that day.

At The Andover Health Centre, 83 per cent knew what would happen next and 81 per cent of those who remembered were told the same day. However, just 77 per cent rated their last contact “good” or “very good”, while 19 per cent rated it neither good nor poor, fairly poor or very poor.

Shepherds Spring scored lower for speed and satisfaction: 82 per cent of patients who got through knew the next step, but only 64 per cent were told the same day.

Just 64 per cent rated their last contact with Shepherds Spring “good” or “very good”, while 19 per cent said it was “fairly poor” or “very poor”.

Many patients who get a response are booked in for an appointment.

At St Mary’s, 68 per cent of patients who knew the next step were booked in for an appointment, while smaller numbers got advice, medication or a referral to another service.

At Adelaide, 71 per cent were booked for an appointment and 23 per cent got advice on managing their health issue, while smaller numbers received medication or were signposted elsewhere.

Charlton Hill follows a similar pattern: 68 per cent were booked in, 14 per cent got information and smaller numbers received other help.

St Mary’s said it had made targeted improvements after the previous survey, particularly to telephone access and continuity of care.

Dr Lara Alloway, Chief Medical Officer at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, said: “We welcome the findings of the annual GP Patient Survey. It helps us understand our patients’ experiences of using and interacting with our services, and the results for Andover highlight areas of good practice.

“We are pleased to see that so many patients in the area have had a positive experience, and we are committed to maintaining and building on this, particularly as we work towards improving care in people’s local neighbourhoods. We also want to thank our practice teams, who work tirelessly to support patients, particularly at times when demand is high.

 “Andover provides an excellent example of what neighbourhood health can look like in practice, and it is a trailblazer for the local area. Located within a shopping centre, the Andover Health Hub brings together NHS health checks, vaccinations, prostate cancer screening, physiotherapy, pharmacy services, community mental health support, older people’s mental health services, and child asthma checks.

“It is a great example of how care can be delivered closer to home through close collaboration between the NHS, Test Valley Borough Council, and a range of local partners.”