A GP surgery named the best in the county in an annual survey has put its success down to a "one team culture".
Hingham Surgery has been revealed to be the GP practice where patients are most satisfied with the level of care they receive - with a whopping 98pc of participants saying they rated their experience as good.
But on the opposite end of the scale, less than half of the patients at Thorpewood Surgery in Thorpe St Andrew would say the same.
The figures were revealed as part of an annual survey of GP patients, in which people are asked to rate their overall experience of their surgery.
Tony Vanderweele, practice manager at Hingham Surgery, said: "We are grateful for this positive feedback from our patients.
"Our aim is to provide our community with a caring, friendly and efficient service and to be approachable, accessible and safe.
"The latest GP patient survey results suggest we are delivering on this.
"We have a 'one team' culture and everybody works together to support our patients.
"We are very proud of everyone who continues to deliver for our patients and have done so all through the pandemic."
Meanwhile, the survey also revealed that three-quarters of participants said they would rate their overall experience as good.
However, this figure is a decrease on the 85pc who gave this answer in 2021.
It also showed that more people are avoiding getting appointments, with 55pc of the 12,000 respondents making this admission.
One in five respondents (21pc) said this was because they were worried about placing a burden on the NHS -the same percentage said they found it too difficult to get an appointment.
In Norfolk and Waveney, there were just three practices where 50pc of respondents or fewer did not rate the experience as good - Thorpewood, High Street Surgery in Lowestoft and the East Norwich Medical Partnership.
High Street Surgery was also the practice which saw the largest drop in satisfaction year-on-year. In 2021, 84pc of patients rated the service as good, compared with 48pc in 2022.
A spokesperson for NHS Norfolk and Waveney said: "We welcome the results of the 2022 GP Patient Survey which provides valuable information on patients’ overall experience of primary care across Norfolk and Waveney and how they access these services.
"The results show that 76pc of patients across Norfolk and Waveney had an overall good experience of their GP practice, which is higher than the national average figure of 72pc.
"This is a testament to the dedication of our primary care staff, who are working hard to provide high-quality services during what has been a very challenging period responding to the Covid-19 pandemic and supporting the rollout of the biggest vaccination programme in NHS history.
“However, we acknowledge there is variation in patient experience and we are working closely with GP practices who may need additional help and support to address concerns about access.
"Also, many of our local practices have asked for guidance from the national access improvement programme to help them identify how they can improve access for their patients.
"Over the last couple of years we have made fantastic progress in making use of digital technology to improve access for our patients.
"We have also expanded our GP practice teams to make sure that patients get the right help from the right person first time, which may not always be a GP.
"People may now be seen by a multidisciplinary team member who may be a physiotherapist, social prescriber or a pharmacist, for example."
The 10 best
- Hingham Surgery - 98pc satisfaction
- School Lane Surgery, Thetford - 94pc
- Aldborough Surgery - 93pc
- Lakenham Surgery - 92pc
- Sole Bay Health Centre, Southwold - 92pc
- Lawson Road Surgery, Norwich - 91pc
- St Clements Surgery, King's Lynn - 91pc
- Wells Health Centre - 91pc
- West Pottergate Medical Practice, Norwich - 91pc
- Birchwood Medical Practice - 90pc
The 10 worst
- Thorpewood Medical Group - 45pc
- High Street Surgery, Lowestoft - 48pc
- East Norwich Medical Partnership - 50pc
- Beaches Medical Cente, Gorleston - 52pc
- Taverham Partnership - 55pc
- Grove Surgery, Thetford - 57pc
- Elmham Surgery, 60pc
- Heacham Group - 63pc
- Roundwell Medical Centre, Costessey - 63pc
- Watton Medical Practice - 63pc
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