JUST OVER a third of patients at Addison House Surgery in Harlow are getting to see their GP face to face.

Figures released by the government, shows that the average figure now stands at 70%, the highest since Covid. Before Covid, the national average stood at 80%.

But patients at Addison House on Hamstel Road will want to know why they lag so far behind, not only the national average but also many other surgeries in Harlow.

As you can see below, top of the Harlow table stands The Ross Practice in Bush Fair at 87.6%. YH has spoken to Ross Practice patients who have nothing but praise for their efficiency in seeing patients, flu jabs, covid jabs and cancer referrals to name just a few.

But it appears that three surgeries are below the national average: Hamilton with 63.3%; Lister House with 48.3% and then Addison with just 33.7%.

YH has also spoken to a member of the Addison House Patients Panel who has assured us that this will be top of the agenda at the Annual General Meeting next month.

Some may also wonder why Barbara Castle Surgery in Sumners does not appear on the list.

Of course, there may be many reasons for this. A glance at the statistics reveals that there were close to 10,000 appointments at Addison House compared to over 6,000 at Church Langley or 5,000 at the Ross Practice.

The full set of statistics for the rest of the country can be found here.

Across England, there were 31.9 million appointments in general practice in October — 13 per cent more than last month.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: ‘We promised to prioritise patients and improve access and that is exactly what we have done – and this is just the start.(reports the Daily Mail).

‘I am determined to make it easier for people to get an appointment with their GP practice when they need one and this will allow patients to make a more informed choice about the care they receive.’ 

Health minister Neil O’Brien said: ‘This is about making sure patients can make genuine choices about where to access their care.

‘More than 90 per cent of a patient’s direct experience of the NHS is through primary care and their GP practices so it is vital appointments are available when needed.

‘This government reiterated its commitment to the NHS during the Autumn Statement and improving access to data is just the start.’

Dr Kieran Sharrock, deputy chair of the General Practitioners Committee England at the British Medical Association, said face-to-face appointments are rising but GPs are continuing to offer remote consultations ‘to make sure patients can still get the care they need, in a way that suits them’.

‘Month on month, GPs and their teams are doing all they can to safely spread the workload, with many offering appointments with other staff, like practice-based paramedics or nurses,’ he said.

It is impossible to explain the discrepancies in GP performance across England but patient choice, along with the size and age of the population each practice serves are some factors, he said. 

With more than 6,000 practices in England, there will ‘obviously be some differences in the way they operate and how staff provide care for their local communities’, Dr Sharrock said. 

Harlow Surgeries