Dudley · Compare
Lower Gornal Medical Practice vs Castle Meadows 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?
Lower Gornal Medical Practice and Castle Meadows Surgery cannot be told apart on the Practice Grade. The likely ranges overlap, so the data does not show that one is ahead of the other, whatever the two numbers are.
Side by side
| Measure | Lower Gornal Medical PracticeDY3 2NQ | Castle Meadows SurgeryDY1 2TY |
|---|---|---|
| Practice Grade (the 2026 GP Patient Survey and NHS appointment and phone data) | ||
| Practice Grade | 77.7likely range 69.6 to 84.0105 survey answers | 79.6likely range 73.4 to 84.4107 survey answers |
| Label (against the England average) | Cannot be told apart from the England average | Cannot be told apart from the England average |
| Patients who describe the practice as good | 75.0%likely range 63.5% to 83.8%, 105 answers | 80.2%likely range 71.5% to 86.7%, 107 answers |
| Access (mean of the two below) | 84.0%likely range 80.0% to 86.9% | 78.2%likely range 73.4% to 82.5% |
| Appointments within two weeks of booking | 96.5%likely range 91.6% to 98.6%, 1,883 appointments | 92.4%likely range 88.5% to 95.0%, 4,041 appointments |
| Calls answered by the practice | 71.4%likely range 65.1% to 76.9%, 4,677 calls | 64.0%likely range 55.2% to 72.0%, 2,567 calls |
| More survey questions (not part of the grade) | ||
| Getting through on the phone | 60.2%likely range 48.2% to 71.1%, 103 answers | 78.9%likely range 69.7% to 85.9%, 99 answers |
| Reception and admin team | 90.2%likely range 80.6% to 95.4%, 101 answers | 90.2%likely range 82.8% to 94.6%, 104 answers |
| Having a preferred professional | 31.5%likely range 21.6% to 43.5%, 103 answers | 23.5%likely range 16.4% to 32.6%, 107 answers |
| Seeing your preferred professional | 37.7%likely range 20.6% to 58.6%, 35 answers | Not shown: fewer than 30 answers |
| Knowing the next step | 81.3%likely range 69.9% to 89.1%, 97 answers | 90.0%likely range 82.3% to 94.5%, 99 answers |
| Contacting the practice | 80.7%likely range 69.6% to 88.4%, 103 answers | 81.3%likely range 72.5% to 87.7%, 103 answers |
| Wait for an appointment | 83.6%likely range 72.1% to 91.0%, 91 answers | 81.9%likely range 73.1% to 88.3%, 101 answers |
| Being listened to | 84.6%likely range 73.8% to 91.5%, 99 answers | 89.6%likely range 81.9% to 94.3%, 99 answers |
| Care and concern | 82.6%likely range 71.4% to 90.0%, 99 answers | 86.5%likely range 78.4% to 91.9%, 102 answers |
| Confidence and trust | 88.7%likely range 78.6% to 94.3%, 99 answers | 90.9%likely range 83.6% to 95.1%, 103 answers |
| Involvement in decisions | 94.2%likely range 85.3% to 97.9%, 95 answers | 94.8%likely range 88.4% to 97.8%, 99 answers |
| Needs met | 91.8%likely range 82.6% to 96.4%, 101 answers | 95.1%likely range 89.0% to 97.9%, 104 answers |
| Vaccinations and screening (NHS England QOF, not part of the grade) | ||
| Babies at 8 months | 92.6%likely range 82.4% to 97.1%, 54 patients | 95.1%likely range 88.0% to 98.1%, 81 patients |
| Children at 18 months | 93.2%likely range 83.8% to 97.3%, 59 patients | 90.9%likely range 83.1% to 95.3%, 88 patients |
| Children at 5 years | 88.8%likely range 80.0% to 94.0%, 80 patients | 86.0%likely range 77.2% to 91.8%, 86 patients |
| Women aged 25 to 49 | 69.4%likely range 66.6% to 72.1%, 1,060 patients | 70.4%likely range 67.8% to 72.9%, 1,240 patients |
| Women aged 50 to 64 | 72.1%likely range 68.8% to 75.3%, 736 patients | 76.0%likely range 72.3% to 79.3%, 579 patients |
| Facts (NHS England, not part of the grade) | ||
| Registered patients | 7,735August 2026 | 6,812August 2026 |
| Primary care network | Sedgley, Coseley & Gornal PCN | Sedgley, Coseley & Gornal PCN |
| Phone | 01384 889410 | 01384 234737 |
| Friends and Family Test (its own feedback) | 94.7% good or very good151 answers, June 2026 | 93.1% good or very good204 answers, June 2026 |
| Appointments (one month) | 3,116 in August 2026Same day 50.0%; face to face 64.9% | 4,292 in August 2026Same day 68.1%; face to face 35.7% |
| Antibiotic items per STAR-PU (one year) | 0.84England 0.74, April 2025 to March 2026 | 0.74England 0.74, April 2025 to March 2026 |
| GPs (full-time equivalent) | 2.1 qualified permanent5.1 including trainees and locums3,672 patients per permanent GP | 2.2 qualified permanent6.0 including trainees and locums3,078 patients per permanent GP |
| CQC rating (a separate source) | Requires improvement | 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.