Compare
Chigwell Medical Centre vs The River Surgery
Two GP practices in the same primary care network, a short way apart. Side by side, with the margin of error on every figure.
Can the survey tell them apart?
The River Surgery’s Practice Grade is clearly higher than Chigwell Medical Centre’s: its likely range lies wholly above.
Side by side
| Measure | Chigwell Medical CentreIG6 2TA | The River SurgeryIG9 6BN |
|---|---|---|
| Practice Grade (the 2026 GP Patient Survey and NHS appointment and phone data) | ||
| Practice Grade | 71.7likely range 60.8 to 80.586 survey answers | 87.2likely range 83.4 to 89.996 survey answersClearly higher |
| Label (against the England average) | Cannot be told apart from the England average | Clearly above the England average |
| Patients who describe the practice as good | 68.1%likely range 52.5% to 80.5%, 86 answers | 88.9%likely range 84.1% to 92.4%, 96 answersClearly higher |
| Access (mean of the two below) | 80.1%likely range 76.0% to 83.4% | 83.0%likely range 77.3% to 87.1% |
| Appointments within two weeks of booking | 89.4%likely range 83.4% to 93.4%, 2,277 appointments | 89.1%likely range 81.2% to 93.9%, 1,454 appointments |
| Calls answered by the practice | 70.8%likely range 65.0% to 76.0%, 5,452 calls | 76.8%likely range 68.5% to 83.5%, 2,505 calls |
| More survey questions (not part of the grade) | ||
| Getting through on the phone | 54.1%likely range 38.9% to 68.6%, 86 answers | 70.6%likely range 64.2% to 76.2%, 94 answers |
| Reception and admin team | 90.0%likely range 76.5% to 96.1%, 84 answers | 93.1%likely range 89.0% to 95.7%, 97 answers |
| Having a preferred professional | 35.6%likely range 22.4% to 51.3%, 85 answers | 29.4%likely range 23.8% to 35.6%, 97 answers |
| Seeing your preferred professional | Not shown: fewer than 30 answers | Not shown: fewer than 30 answers |
| Knowing the next step | 82.6%likely range 67.9% to 91.4%, 85 answers | 93.1%likely range 88.9% to 95.8%, 93 answers |
| Contacting the practice | 64.9%likely range 49.2% to 77.9%, 85 answers | 90.3%likely range 85.7% to 93.5%, 96 answers |
| Wait for an appointment | 87.9%likely range 73.7% to 95.0%, 81 answers | 86.7%likely range 81.4% to 90.7%, 87 answers |
| Being listened to | 90.6%likely range 77.4% to 96.4%, 85 answers | 86.8%likely range 81.7% to 90.7%, 95 answers |
| Care and concern | 84.5%likely range 69.9% to 92.8%, 83 answers | 87.8%likely range 82.8% to 91.5%, 94 answers |
| Confidence and trust | 92.0%likely range 79.2% to 97.2%, 84 answers | 96.1%likely range 92.7% to 98.0%, 93 answers |
| Involvement in decisions | 87.5%likely range 72.7% to 94.9%, 76 answers | 91.2%likely range 86.6% to 94.3%, 92 answers |
| Needs met | 85.6%likely range 71.1% to 93.4%, 83 answers | 97.5%likely range 94.3% to 98.9%, 91 answers |
| Vaccinations and screening (NHS England QOF, not part of the grade) | ||
| Babies at 8 months | 85.3%likely range 75.6% to 91.6%, 75 patients | 91.7%likely range 80.4% to 96.7%, 48 patients |
| Children at 18 months | 76.2%likely range 67.1% to 83.5%, 101 patients | 82.5%likely range 70.6% to 90.2%, 57 patients |
| Children at 5 years | 77.1%likely range 68.2% to 84.1%, 105 patients | 83.3%likely range 70.4% to 91.3%, 48 patients |
| Women aged 25 to 49 | 66.9%likely range 64.5% to 69.2%, 1,533 patients | 70.4%likely range 66.9% to 73.6%, 709 patients |
| Women aged 50 to 64 | 76.5%likely range 73.2% to 79.5%, 706 patients | 83.1%likely range 79.4% to 86.2%, 455 patients |
| Facts (NHS England, not part of the grade) | ||
| Registered patients | 8,399August 2026 | 4,431August 2026 |
| Primary care network | Loughton Buckhurst Hill & Chigwell PCN | Loughton Buckhurst Hill & Chigwell PCN |
| Phone | 020 33766670 | 020 85047364 |
| Friends and Family Test (its own feedback) | No results for June 2026 | 96.7% good or very good60 answers, June 2026 |
| Appointments (one month) | 2,723 in August 2026Same day 56.4%; face to face 96.6% | 1,531 in August 2026Same day 58.3%; face to face 74.0% |
| Antibiotic items per STAR-PU (one year) | 0.88England 0.74, April 2025 to March 2026 | 0.73England 0.74, April 2025 to March 2026 |
| GPs (full-time equivalent) | 2.4 qualified permanent3.0 including trainees and locums3,539 patients per permanent GP | 1.8 qualified permanent2.6 including trainees and locums2,518 patients per permanent GP |
| CQC rating (a separate source) | Good | Good |
“Clearly higher” appears only when a practice’s likely range lies wholly above every other practice’s here. When the ranges overlap, the survey cannot tell the practices apart and nobody is pointed out. A practice never gets a mark for being lower.
The Practice Grade weighs the survey and access, from NHS appointment and phone data; the other survey questions are from the 2026 GP Patient Survey. The facts are from NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and OHID, are not part of the grade, and are shown as each practice’s own record. NHS England advises against ranking practices on the Friends and Family Test or on appointment figures, and we point nothing out in the facts, vaccination or screening rows.
The full pages
Sources
- 2026 GP Patient Survey: https://www.gp-patient.co.uk/
- Contains information from NHS England, licenced under the current version of the Open Government Licence
- Contains information from the Care Quality Commission, licensed under the Open Government Licence. CQC must be acknowledged as the source of the data; CQC is not responsible for our analysis.
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Antibiotic prescribing: UK Health Security Agency and Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (Fingertips), from NHS Business Services Authority prescribing data.