The worst GP surgeries for booking an appointment across Chesterfield, Clay Cross, Alfreton, Ilkeston and more – as patient satisfaction hits new low

More than a quarter of people rated their experience of booking an appointment as poor, the highest proportion in six years.

The government said it was investing in GP services “to tackle the 8am rush” and improve patient experience.

The latest annual GP Patient Survey, produced by Ipsos on behalf of NHS England, surveyed 760,000 people between January and April 2023. It asked what they thought about their local GP surgery, including their experiences of booking an appointment.

When patients were asked, ‘how would you describe your experience of making an appointment?’, more than a quarter (27.7%) described it as poor – the highest since current records began in 2018 and a 1.8% rise on the previous year’s figures – when 25.9% described their experience as poor.

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A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We’re committed to increasing capacity so GP practices can offer more appointments from more staff than ever before.

“Appointments are already on the rise, and we recently announced £240 million of support to practices across the UK to embrace the latest technology, tackle the 8am rush and make it easier for patients to see their GP.”

You can see which surgeries across Derbyshire (excluding Derby city and South Derbyshire) were rated worst for the experience of booking an appointment below.