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96% of GP Surgeries are rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, but patient reviews tell a different story
Google Reviews of GP practices in England reveal an average rating of just 2.81/5 and 89% are rated below 4/5
Nearly all GP surgeries in England have been rated either ‘Good’ (91%) or ‘Outstanding (5%) by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), but online reviews left by patients reveal a different story.
The average review score on Google is just 2.81 out of five, and nine in ten GPs are (89%) have a score of four or less out of five.
The insight - which shows some disparity between patient expectations and experiences, and official service standard reports – is presented in a new study by national law firm, Simpson Millar.
They looked at the latest CQC inspection reports and Google reviews of over 850 different GP practices in 21 major UK towns and cities, to see how these compare, and determine if it is a ‘postcode lottery’ when it comes to local healthcare provision.
According to the CQC figures, just 2% of the general practices analysed ‘Require Improvement’ and 1% received an overall ‘Inadequate’ service report rating following their last in-person inspections.
In comparison, five times as many (15%) had a poor online patient review score of 2/5 or less, and just 11% of the practices had an average Google review score of 4/5 (or higher).
We're rated‘Excellent’Looking at this on a per location level, patient reports suggest there is particular room for improvement in Peterborough, where practices there have earned an average online review score of just 2.4/5 – the lowest of all the 21 towns and cities analysed.
No GPs in Peterborough were rated ‘Inadequate’ by the CQC though – when last inspected, two practices (11%) were considered to require some improvement overall, while three (16%) had been awarded an ‘Outstanding’ rating.
Also, at the bottom of the table for online patient reviews are Leicester and Hull (both 2.5/5), and Birmingham (2.59/5).
Birmingham also has the most GPs that were rated as ‘Inadequate’ overall by the Care Quality Commission – and a relatively high 6% were deemed to need some improvement. There are also four surgeries here featured in the ‘worst 20’ according to average Google Reviews figures.
GPs in Leicester were featured six times on the list of the ‘worst 20’ according to patient reviews too, and 8% were deemed either ‘Inadequate’ or ‘Requiring Improvement’ overall in official CQC reports.
Hull had a low patient review score, but no GPs were reported to be offering a service below expected levels when they were last officially inspected.
At the other end of the table are Exeter (3.52/5), Cambridge (3.36/5) and Oxford (3.29/5).
In the last CQC inspections of surgeries in Exeter, 35% earned an overall ‘Outstanding’ level – which was the highest of all the areas analysed and was in line with patient reviews. It also doesn’t have a single practice with an overall CQC status below ‘Good’ at this time.
In Cambridge, while many patients seemed satisfied with their experiences, a relatively low 7% of the practices were deemed to be ‘Outstanding’ when they were last inspected, and in Oxford this was 5%.
Patient experiences and official ratings were particularly at odds in Brighton, where the Google reviews score was an above average 3.2/5, but the CQC had classed nearly one in ten (9%) surgeries as offering a service below its overall expected level.
Overall, the medical providers that appeared in both the highest-rated top twenty on Google and were awarded ‘Outstanding’ status in official reviews were:
While the providers that features in the lowest rated on Google and were deemed ‘Inadequate’ by the CQC at the time of inspection were:
Nationwide, surgeries were most likely to have been officially classified as ‘Inadequate’ in the overall safety and leadership/management criteria, while an ‘Outstanding’ rating was most likely to have been awarded to practices who evidenced high levels of responsiveness.
When drilling down into specific patient groups, it is families and working-aged people who are most likely to receive a service that the CQC would consider as ‘requiring improvement’.
Ian Clifton, Medical Negligence Solicitor at Simpson Millar commented: “GP surgeries are a vital front line of defence for people. We believe they should be adequately funded, and support should be made available to implement changes as needed following CQC inspections.
It is great to see many GP surgeries being rated well, despite the challenges of the last few years.
It is also clear that many practices haven’t been inspected in some time though. Perhaps due to the Covid-19 pandemic, more than eight in ten (81%) of the GPs we analysed have not been inspected since March 2020, and if we compare their official ratings with online patient reviews it is clear that there is some disparity in several towns and cities.
Sadly, failings in care at GP surgeries can have a devastating impact on patients. Where failings are identified, it is our opinion that lessons learnt should be shared across all surgeries to protect patients.
Patients who suffer as a result of medical negligence often pursue a claim for compensation to pay for follow up treatment, loss of earnings and rehabilitation. However, many take legal action in a bid to ensure that changes are made.”
Further information about this study can be found at: How GP Surgeries Are Rated Across England
For further information, please contact Cheryl Crossley – [email protected] or Naomi Willet – [email protected].
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