Patients across Street, Glastonbury, Wells and Shepton Mallet have had their say on how easy it is to get help from their local GP surgery.

New NHS patient feedback shows a wide gap between surgeries in the area, with scores covering overall experience, phone access and how helpful patients found reception and admin teams.

Glastonbury Health Centre, in Glastonbury, came out top among the local examples provided, with a 74 per cent overall positive rating.

At the surgery, 41 per cent of patients said it was "fairly easy" to contact the practice by phone, while 60 per cent said reception and administrative staff were "very helpful".

Wells Health Centre, in Wells, recorded a 64 per cent overall positive rating.

At the Wells practice, 47 per cent of patients said phone access was "neither easy nor difficult", while 51 per cent said the reception and administrative team was "very helpful".

Grove House Surgery, in Shepton Mallet, recorded a 63 per cent overall positive rating.

There, 41 per cent of respondents said getting through by phone was "neither easy nor difficult", while 55 per cent said reception and administrative staff were "very helpful".

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Glastonbury Surgery, in Glastonbury, had a 58 per cent overall positive rating.

The data showed 35 per cent of patients found phone contact "neither easy nor difficult", while 51 per cent said staff were "very helpful".

Wells City Practice, in Wells, recorded a 56 per cent overall positive rating.

At that practice, 40 per cent of respondents said contacting the surgery by phone was "neither easy nor difficult", while 49 per cent rated reception and administrative staff as "very helpful".

Park Medical Practice, in Shepton Mallet, recorded a 50 per cent overall positive rating.

The figures showed 34 per cent of respondents found phone access "neither easy nor difficult", while 45 per cent said reception and administrative staff were "fairly helpful".

Vine Surgery Partnership, in Street, recorded the lowest overall positive score among the local examples provided, at 48 per cent.

At Vine Surgery Partnership, 26 per cent of respondents said contacting the practice by phone was "neither easy nor difficult", while 39 per cent said reception and administrative staff were "fairly helpful".

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The figures come as GP access remains a major issue for families, older people and working patients across Somerset and the rest of England.

More than 134,000 written complaints about GPs were made last year, with communication problems, staff attitudes, treatment delays and medication issues among the concerns raised nationally.

NHS contracts require GP practices to offer patients ways to book appointments by phone or in person, as well as through online systems.

An NHS England spokesperson said: "While online booking forms offer patients an additional way to access care, they are not a replacement for traditional methods, and all GP practices are contractually required to allow patients to book appointments by phone or by attending reception in person.

"We have upgraded thousands of GP telephone systems, and by expanding the hours for submitting initial online requests we are freeing up phone lines for those who prefer to make an appointment by phone."

The Government has also promised extra investment to improve access to family doctors in England.

Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: "It is worrying to hear that some patients are delaying or avoiding seeking care because they think getting an appointment will be difficult.

"GPs are working harder than ever, but we recognise that too many patients are still waiting too long for appointments or are anxious that they won't be able to get the care they need when they need it.

"GPs and our teams are just as frustrated as our patients when they can't access our care."

The local scores show patients can have very different experiences depending on which surgery they use, even within a short distance of each other.

For many residents, the issue is simple: when they need help, they want to know they can get through, book an appointment and be treated with care.

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