THE best and worst GPs surgeries have been revealed as part of a nationwide patient survey.

Reporter, MARY NAYLOR talked to the ones doing well, and not so well, in Bolton.

MORE than 4,600 patients in Bolton rated their GP surgery as part of a nationwide survey, looking at a range of issues like appointment waiting times, getting through on the phone and how doctors treat patients.

On average 85 per cent of the Bolton patients who filled in the survey say they are happy with their family doctor, slightly higher than the national average of 84 per cent.

READ MORE: The full list of Bolton GP surgeries rated 

Patients were asked to rate their GP by overall experience — and Mandalay Medical Centre in Blackburn Road came out on top with a 97 per cent satisfaction rating.

Dr Colin Mercer and his staff were “extremely pleased”. He said: “It’s nice to know our patients appreciate us and we do try hard. It’s tough on general practice at the moment and it’s nice we’re appreciated."

He said their success was down to their partnership with patients.

“We try to develop a culture of working with patients to deliver as good health care as we can given the time we have and when we can fit people in.

“We don’t say you can only have one problem, we try and fit everything in at once."

Dr Mercer praised primary care leaders, the CCG who funded targets such as seeing children on the day.

Dr Mercer explained: "We’ve tried hard to provide extra appointments in Bolton. I still think people would say their GP is great ‘when you can see them’.

“We do everything we can to try and improve access for people."

Good organisation was also key to making a general practice work well, he added.

“We try and share the work out amongst everybody in our team, from the receptionist to the practice manager.”

READ MORE: Bolton GPs beat national average

Tonge Fold Health Centre, in Hilton Street, also achieved an overall patient satisfaction score of 97 per cent.

Partner Dr John Scott said: “We’re surprised, particularly considering the many excellent practices in Bolton. I’m very pleased that patients have recognised the hard work put in by our administration staff, clinical staff and our patient participation group – the entire Tonge Fold team.

“We believe this result shows that our patients value a traditional practice with low staff turnover and continuity of care – we will do our best to continue to provide this for them.”

Dalefield Surgery in Avondale Street achieved 96 per cent and practice manager Joanna Sharples said: “We are a nice sized practice with 6,700 patients and we’re run by partners who are really involved with patient communication and they try to go above and beyond where possible. We don’t have a long waiting list, if you feel ill on the day you want to get in, we do try our best.”

Dr Hendy & Rizwan Halliwell Surgery in Lindfield Drive and Egerton & Dunscar Health Centre in Darwen Road round out the top five, both with 95 per cent.

Gill Warburton, practice manager said: “We are delighted to have achieved a patient satisfaction score of 95 per cent and feel that this reflects the commitment of all members of our primary care team to providing the best possible service for our patients.

“We strive to ensure patient satisfaction from their initial contact with reception through to their clinical consultation.

“We have recently welcomed a musculoskeletal practitioner, mental health practitioner and pharmacist to our team and their expertise is proving very popular with our patients.

“We proactively address issues pertinent to our local patient population and at present, one of our priorities is to tackle social isolation in our community.”

At the bottom of the list of Bolton GPs with a patient satisfaction score of 57 per cent was Deane Clinic One Stop Health Centre in Horsfield Street. The centre declined to comment.

The Charlotte Street Surgery in Waters Meeting Road received a 65 per cent approval rating and Bolton Medical Centre in Rupert Street 70 per cent. The practices also chose not to comment.

Shanti Medical Centre in St Helens Road achieved 66 per cent. Michael Smith, chief officer of the GP Federation which took over the centre six months ago said the practice had been working hard to implement patient feedback and had already improved the appointments system.

He said: “The main thing was patients were concerned they didn’t know what had gone on. There are lessons there about how we communicate with the community ­— ‘This is what happens and what it means to you’.”

Deane Medical Centre in Deane Road had a patient satisfaction score of 72 per cent. Dr Anjani Kumar said: “Improvement is a continuous process, we always take note of criticism, we don’t discourage it.” He also pointed to the practice’s CQC report which rates it as outstanding.