In recent patient satisfaction surveys, local GP surgeries in Wells have been rated, giving insight into the area's quality of primary care services.

The overall figures showed that about three-quarters (73%) of patients who responded said they had a good or very good experience with their GP practice in Somerset.

Wells Health Centre was given a 94% satisfaction rating by patients who found it easy to get through to the practice by phone, exceeding both the Integrated Care System (ICS) result of 55% and the national average of 50%. Wells City Practice scored slightly lower with 79% but still surpassed the ICS and national results.

The receptionists at Wells Health Centre earned a 93% helpfulness rating from patients, while Wells City Practice scored a perfect 100%, both surpassing the ICS result of 86% and national result of 82%.

Regarding satisfaction with appointment times, Wells Health Centre scored 84%, and Wells City Practice scored 61%, compared to an ICS result of 56% and national result of 53%. Regarding patients' ability to see or speak to their preferred GP when they would like to, Wells Health Centre received a score of 72% while the other centre scored 50%, compared to an ICS result of 39% and national result of 35%.

In making an appointment, Wells Health Centre received an 81% score from patients who were offered a choice of appointment, while Wells City Practice scored 64% against an ICS result of 60% and national result of 59%. The centres also received scores of 89% and 79%, respectively for patients who were satisfied with the appointment they were offered, against an ICS result of 76% and national result of 72%.

As for the overall patient experience, 90% of patients at Wells Health Centre described their overall experience as good, compared to 87% at the other centre in Wells, surpassing the ICS result of 75% and national result of 71%.

A spokesperson for NHS Somerset said: "We welcome the results of the GP Patient Survey which found that 73% of patients report a good or very good overall experience with their GP practice in Somerset, which is in line with the national average.

"In Somerset out of the 600,000 patients registered at our 62 practices, 7,757 responses were received to the GP Patient Survey.

"The results from the GP Patient Survey are one of a number data sources we use to better understand the experiences of patients accessing General Practice in Somerset.

"GP teams in Somerset are delivering around 300,000 appointments a month and over 313 additional General Practice staff have been recruited in Somerset since 2019 to ensure more patients are seen by the right health professional as quickly as possible.

"We work with GP Practices and the wider health and care system in Somerset to continuously improve access to general practice and experience of care for our population.

"This includes investing in additional training and support for practice staff, in technology such as improved phone systems and increasing use of community pharmacy and other health professionals to make it easier for people in Somerset to access General Practice".