The GP Patient Survey comes out every year and assesses people’s experiences of their local GP as well as their nearby pharmacies and dental services.
It samples adults aged 16+ registered with GP practices across England, using postal invitations with online and paper completion options.
Around three million people are invited, with the 2026 fieldwork running from 2 January to 13 April 2026 and yielding 654,714 responses – a national response rate of 22.1 per cent.
Patients were asked to respond to the question ‘overall, how would you describe your experience of your GP practice?
And in Swindon top of the pile when it comes to satisfaction was Old Town Surgery.
The GP received the highest overall experience rating in Swindon, with a total rating of ‘good’ of 90%.
The surgery only saw 1 per cent of responses as ‘Very poor’, with 60 per cent as ‘Very Good’.
Last year the surgery topped the charts as well, with 74 per cent of patients describing their experience as ‘very good’.
A spokesperson for Old Town Surgery said: “We are incredibly honoured to be voted as the best practice in Swindon for overall patient care.
“It is a true reflection of the passion and hard work our entire team puts into caring for our community every single day.
REVEALED: Best and worst ranked GP Practices in Swindon (Image: Iza Habur)
“We are deeply grateful to our patients for their continued trust and support, which motivates us to keep striving for excellence in everything we do.”
Cricklade Surgery followed closely with a 89 per cent rating of good (total), only 3per cent as Very Poor and 65 per cent as ‘Very Good’.
Other high-scoring practices included Elm Tree Surgery in Shrivenham (88 per cent ‘good’ in total), Victoria Cross Surgery on Victoria Road (86 per cent) and Lawn Medical Centre (85 per cent).
The Partners of Elm Tree Surgery said: “As Partners at Elm Tree Surgery, we are absolutely delighted to hear that we have been ranked highly for overall patient experience in the NHS GP Practice Survey.
“We are a small team in a semi-rural location. We serve a diverse population including many international military families from the Shrivenham Defence Academy nearby.
“The clinical and non-clinical staff at Elm Tree work exceptionally hard to try to deliver personalised care, particularly where patients have complex ongoing needs.
“Although we don’t have personal GP lists, we aim to accommodate patients with the clinician of their choice wherever possible. Trying to prioritise continuity of care in this way is, one of our major strengths.
“Thank you in particular to our reception and administrative staff, who know many of our patients well and are very skilled at raising concerns to the wider team as needed.
“Many of our staff regularly go above and beyond, to find solutions, innovate and work collaboratively with and for patients.
“One of our core values is teaching and training. All three GP partners were former trainees who have stayed on at Elm Tree.
“We now enjoying teaching (and learning from) new GP trainees and medical students from both Bristol and Oxford Universities.
“Finally, our excellent practice manager Mrs Jane Blackett, deserves a mention by name for her tireless work, positivity and can-do attitude, which sets the tone for the whole practice.
“It is a challenging time in General Practice at the moment, but we genuinely do love working in this surgery and a huge thank you to our patients for their positive feedback.”
Ridgeway View Family Practice in Wroughton received 83 per cent, Priory Road Medical Centre 81 per cent, Westrop Medical Practice in Highworth 78 per cent, Abbey Meads Medical Practice 75 per cent, and Ridge Green Medical Practice in Shaw 74 per cent.
Eldene Surgery and Park Lane Practice both had total ‘good’ scores of 73%.
However some patients in the town have not been as happy with their experiences seeking treatment, diagnoses or other help from their local doctor.
Some of the the lowest ranking GP practices were Phoenix Surgery, Merchiston Surgery and Hawthorn Medical Centre.
Phoenix Surgery in Toothill only achieved a total ‘good’ score of 65 per cent with six per cent of responses as Very Poor and only 30 per cent as Very Good.
The surgery provided more insight and context to the figures.
In a statement, they said: “We’re naturally disappointed by some of the findings in this year’s National GP Patient Survey, but we also believe it’s important to provide some context.
“At Phoenix Surgery, we routinely ask patients for feedback immediately after their appointments.
“Our most recent survey, completed in May 2026 with 138 responses, found that 93.5% of patients rated their overall experience as good or very good, compared with 65% reported in the national survey.
“Our own patient feedback also showed that 94.9% of patients found our reception and administrative teams helpful, 96.4% rated the professionalism of our staff as good or excellent, and 90.6% felt their concerns were taken seriously.
“We recognise that the National GP Patient Survey and our own surveys use different methodologies, so they are not directly comparable.
Other high-scoring practices included Elm Tree Surgery in Shrivenham (88 per cent ‘good’ in total), Victoria Cross Surgery on Victoria Road (86 per cent) and Lawn Medical Centre (85 per cent) (stock photo) (Image: Dragos Condrea)
“However, our results reflect the experiences of patients who have recently accessed our services and provide us with valuable, real-time feedback that helps us continually improve.
“We take every piece of patient feedback seriously, whether positive or negative.
“While we’re pleased that our own survey demonstrates high levels of patient satisfaction, we are equally committed to learning from the national results and continuing to improve access, communication and the overall patient experience.
“I’d like to thank our patients for continuing to share their views and for placing their trust in our teams every day.
“We remain committed to providing safe, high-quality and compassionate care to everyone registered at Phoenix Surgery.”
Merchiston Surgery in Stratton St Margaret achieved a 64 per cent total ‘good’ score, with eight per cent of responses Very Poor and a low 21 per cent of Very Good.
The lowest ranked GP Practice overall was Hawthorn Medical Centre in Gorse Hill, with a total ‘good’ score of 56 per cent, 11 per cent of responses Very Poor and 26 per cent Very Good.
In a statement, the medical centre said: “We were aware that some patients were dissatisfied with our appointment booking process and the availability of routine appointments.
“In response to this feedback, the practice worked hard to redesign how patients access care and introduced a Total Triage model from Monday 6 July.
“As part of this change, we established a dedicated Triage Hub comprising a GP, Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP), Minor Illness Nurse and Home Visiting Clinician.
“This allows patient requests to be assessed promptly and directed to the most appropriate clinician or service.
“Although we have moved to a Total Triage system, patients still receive a personal touch. Our reception team contacts patients directly to organise the most appropriate appointment and provide advice and support where needed.
“Since the launch on Monday 6 July, the practice has managed 541 patient requests between Monday and Thursday, with every patient receiving an outcome within one working day.
“We will continue to monitor the service closely and make further improvements to ensure patients can access the right care, at the right time, from the right healthcare professional.”
Last year the worst GPs for overall experience was tied between Merchiston Surgery and Hawthorn Medical Centre, both having 10 per cent of all respondents labelling them ‘very poor’.
“The survey assesses patients’ experiences of healthcare services provided by GP practices, including experience of access to GP practices, contacting the practice, the quality of care received from healthcare professionals, experience of services when their GP practice is closed and patients’ experiences of NHS pharmacy and dental services,” reads the NHS website.
“The survey also captures information about patient health, including patients with long term conditions, disabilities, or illnesses, and the support they receive to manage these.
“Data is published at GP practice, Primary Care Network (PCN), Integrated Care System (ICS), and national level in variety of formats including a National Report, National Results and Trends, and organisation level reports.
“Official statistics are produced impartiality and free from any political influence.”
Nationally, there was a slight improvement in patient satisfaction, with 76.7 per cent saying their surgery was either “very good” or “fairly good” this year.
Dr Amanda Doyle, National Director for Primary Care, NHS England, said: “Thanks to the hard work of GPs and their teams, we have seen another positive improvement in patients’ experience of accessing General Practice, continuing the upward trend we have seen over the past two years.
“We have listened to patients and practices have introduced changes to make access easier and more convenient, from improving phone systems to expanding online services and use of the NHS App.
“These changes are giving patients more choice in how they access care and are making a real difference to their experience.
“We are also seeing encouraging improvements across primary care, with more people able to access NHS dental appointments and positive experiences reported in community pharmacy.”
Health and Social Care Secretary James Murray said: “Even in the face of record temperatures and the busiest summer in NHS history, healthcare staff have continued to deliver for patients and I want to thank every one of them for their extraordinary dedication.
“More people are now being treated within 18 weeks than at any point since 2021, while 3 in 4 A&E patients were seen within 4 hours.
“The latest GP Patient Survey also shows we’re making real progress to improve the front door of the NHS, with almost 77% of patients reporting a ‘good’ experience – more than the last 2 years.
“This shows the hard work of NHS staff is helping more patients get the care they need, and alongside our record investment and reforms, we’re determined to keep driving waiting times down and improving care for everyone.”