New research suggests Bury patients rate their GP practices as ‘good’.

This are the results of the latest National GP Patient Survey of nearly 10,000 Bury patients earlier this year, which saw a third respond.

Of these, 85 per cent said their overall experience of their GP practice as ‘fairly good’ or ‘very vood’, which is above the national average of 83 per cent.

NHS Bury Clinical Commissioning Group hopes this will be a boost for practice teams after working through challenging times during the pandemic.

In eight of the nine Bury areas, practices performed the same or better in comparison with 2020.

CCG chairman Dr. Jeff Schryer said: “The national survey reflects a small sample of patients, but it’s really encouraging that the majority of patients who responded are generally positive about the services provided by their GP practice here in Bury.

“The feedback will help us to both share good practice and to look at where we can improve services and patients’ experiences further.

“Our practices have been there for patients right through the pandemic and continue to work hard to respond to all patient contacts quickly.

“New digital advances mean most issues can be resolved without having to set foot in the practice, thanks to consultations by telephone, video and secure message - which means many patients are consulted more quickly than in the past.

“For some appointments and health concerns a face-to- face appointment will be the only option and where this is necessary this will be arranged.”

But there are still there are still areas where Bury patients scored slightly lower than the previous year.

These included whether they felt a health care professional recognised or understood mental health needs they may have and whether they felt they had enough support from local services to help them manage a condition.