GP practices in Derby and Derbyshire are easier to contact, survey results show

GP practices in Derby and Derbyshire have been praised for making improvements to patient satisfaction with their services.

The annual GP Patient Survey results, published today, show increases in patient ratings for “ease of contacting your practice”, by phone, website and the NHS app.

A number of measures in Derby and Derbyshire show improvement in 2025, compared to 2024:

  • 76% of respondents rated their overall experience of their GP practice as “good” or “very good”, up from 74%.
  • 49% of respondents rated “ease of contacting GP practice on the phone” as “easy”, or “very easy”, up from 45%. The percentage who rated it “difficult” or “very difficult” fell from 44% to 39%.
  • 46% of respondents rated “ease of contacting GP practice using their website ” as “easy”, or “very easy”, up from 43%. The percentage who rated it “difficult” or “very difficult” fell from 41% to 38%.
  • 45% of respondents rated “ease of contacting GP practice using the NHS app” as “easy”, or “very easy”, up from 41%. The percentage who rated it “difficult” or “very difficult” fell from 43% to 39%.

The survey showed broadly similar results to previous years in other question areas.

Clive Newman, director of primary care for Derby and Derbyshire, said: “We have worked together with GP practices, their partners and their staff, over the past two years to make improvements to access.

“The GP Patient Survey results tell us there is a noticeable improvement in the way people feel about contacting their GP practice.

“We are pleased with those improvements and we pay tribute to the hard work of practice staff, working together with their patients, to achieve this.

“Despite that, our area is still below the national average for the questions about contacting your GP practice and we absolutely recognise that many people still find it hard to contact their practice.

“However, GP practices provided a record number of appointments last year.

“We will continue to work with practices to support them in providing a consistently high quality service.”

The number of GP appointments provided in Derby and Derbyshire in 2024/25 was 7.1m, up from 6.8m in 2023/24.

Of those 2.8m were provided on the same day as contacting the GP practice, up from 2.7m the previous year, while 4.8m were face to face, compared to 5m the previous year.

Andy Mott is a GP at Jessop Medical Practice, Alfreton, and medical director of Derby and Derbyshire GP Provider Board, which speaks for practices across the county.

He said: “The improvements made by practices to booking and appointment systems are making it easier for patients to see a healthcare professional and to do routine tasks like asking for repeat medication.

“General practices are continuing to improve the quality of care we provide, despite continually increasing demand.

We do that by listening to our patients and working with them. We are grateful for their views of people who contributed to the annual GP Patient Survey and we will now analyse the results locally so we can identify further areas to improve.”

Many of Derbyshire’s 113 GP practices have implemented major improvements in their telephone, website and booking systems over the past two years. These have included:

  • telephone systems that enable receptionists to call back, so patients don’t have to wait on the phone
  • organising reception teams and telephone systems to deploy staff flexibly at busy times
  • integrating website and NHS app booking functions with GP computer systems
  • enabling routine contact, such as repeat medication requests, to be done online
  • training call handlers to work with patients to make appointments with the healthcare professional best suited to their needs

In Derby and Derbyshire 12,689 people returned GP Patient Survey questionnaires and gave their views. The survey was sent to 37,468 randomly selected people.

Results from the GP patient survey are broken down by practice and can be viewed on the dedicated website.

The findings also show:

  • 76% of respondents had a good overall experience of their GP practice (against 75% national average).
  • 68% had a good overall experience of contacting their GP practice (70% national average)
  • 61% had a good overall experience of NHS services when their GP practice was closed (57% national average)
  • 88% had a good overall experience of pharmacy services (88% national average)
  • 72% had a good overall experience of NHS dental services (71% national average)
  • 93% had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to (93% national average)
  • 92% were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment (91% national average)
  • 82% of patients who managed to contact their practice knew what the next step would be in dealing with their request (83% national average)
  • 91% felt that their needs were met during their last appointment (90% national average)
  • 69% felt they had enough support from local services or organisations to help them manage their conditions or illnesses (69% national average)

NHS Derby and Derbyshire will now carry out a detailed analysis of results by practice and local primary care network (groupings of GP practices) area.

The findings from this will be used as part of ongoing support for GP practices and local areas, to ensure they learn from each other and reach the same high standards.