Cheshire West and Chester · Compare
The Elms Medical Centre vs Fountains Medical Practice
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 Elms Medical Centre and Fountains Medical Practice 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.
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Side by side
| Measure | The Elms Medical CentreCH1 4DS | Fountains Medical PracticeCH1 4DS |
|---|---|---|
| Practice Grade (the 2026 GP Patient Survey and NHS appointment and phone data) | ||
| Practice Grade | 82.9likely range 71.2 to 89.3105 survey answers | 86.4likely range 81.6 to 90.0101 survey answers |
| 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 | 83.7%likely range 67.2% to 92.8%, 105 answers | 84.7%likely range 78.1% to 89.6%, 101 answers |
| Access (mean of the two below) | 80.8%likely range 75.6% to 84.5% | 90.3%likely range 86.2% to 93.0%Clearly higher |
| Appointments within two weeks of booking | 86.8%likely range 77.8% to 92.5%, 1,257 appointments | 98.1%likely range 93.7% to 99.5%, 1,763 appointmentsClearly higher |
| Calls answered by the practice | 74.7%likely range 69.4% to 79.3%, 6,056 calls | 82.3%likely range 75.4% to 87.6%, 3,157 calls |
| More survey questions (not part of the grade) | ||
| Getting through on the phone | 66.8%likely range 48.6% to 81.1%, 97 answers | 56.5%likely range 47.9% to 64.7%, 88 answers |
| Reception and admin team | 84.6%likely range 68.1% to 93.4%, 103 answers | 88.2%likely range 82.1% to 92.5%, 100 answers |
| Having a preferred professional | 24.6%likely range 12.9% to 41.8%, 106 answers | 35.1%likely range 28.0% to 43.0%, 101 answers |
| Seeing your preferred professional | Not shown: fewer than 30 answers | 62.6%likely range 48.8% to 74.7%, 35 answers |
| Knowing the next step | 93.0%likely range 78.2% to 98.0%, 100 answers | 79.6%likely range 72.4% to 85.3%, 98 answers |
| Contacting the practice | 81.7%likely range 64.9% to 91.5%, 104 answers | 77.1%likely range 69.7% to 83.2%, 98 answers |
| Wait for an appointment | 78.0%likely range 59.7% to 89.4%, 93 answers | 79.1%likely range 71.6% to 85.1%, 92 answers |
| Being listened to | 93.3%likely range 78.5% to 98.1%, 100 answers | 83.6%likely range 76.8% to 88.8%, 98 answers |
| Care and concern | 93.9%likely range 79.6% to 98.4%, 102 answers | 85.4%likely range 78.8% to 90.2%, 97 answers |
| Confidence and trust | 98.8%likely range 86.7% to 99.9%, 102 answers | 86.4%likely range 79.9% to 91.0%, 98 answers |
| Involvement in decisions | 86.3%likely range 69.8% to 94.5%, 100 answers | 82.9%likely range 75.9% to 88.2%, 95 answers |
| Needs met | 96.5%likely range 83.1% to 99.4%, 101 answers | 84.1%likely range 77.4% to 89.1%, 100 answers |
| Vaccinations and screening (NHS England QOF, not part of the grade) | ||
| Babies at 8 months | 75.9%likely range 63.1% to 85.4%, 54 patients | 93.3%likely range 78.7% to 98.2%, 30 patients |
| Children at 18 months | 79.0%likely range 67.4% to 87.3%, 62 patients | 96.3%likely range 81.7% to 99.3%, 27 patients |
| Children at 5 years | 81.5%likely range 71.7% to 88.4%, 81 patients | 87.5%likely range 69.0% to 95.7%, 24 patients |
| Women aged 25 to 49 | 71.4%likely range 69.2% to 73.6%, 1,603 patients | 68.2%likely range 64.9% to 71.4%, 780 patients |
| Women aged 50 to 64 | 79.9%likely range 77.2% to 82.3%, 929 patients | 73.5%likely range 67.6% to 78.6%, 245 patients |
| Facts (NHS England, not part of the grade) | ||
| Registered patients | 9,839August 2026 | 4,530August 2026 |
| Primary care network | Chester Central PCN | Chester Central PCN |
| Phone | 01244 351000 | 01244 325721 |
| Friends and Family Test (its own feedback) | 94.4% good or very good18 answers, June 2026 | 93.9% good or very good49 answers, June 2026 |
| Appointments (one month) | 3,430 in August 2026Same day 28.0%; face to face 75.9% | 5,036 in August 2026Same day 59.4%; face to face 22.2% |
| Antibiotic items per STAR-PU (one year) | 0.72England 0.74, April 2025 to March 2026 | 1.61England 0.74, April 2025 to March 2026 |
| GPs (full-time equivalent) | 5.7 qualified permanent7.6 including trainees and locums1,732 patients per permanent GP | 3.4 qualified permanent4.5 including trainees and locums1,322 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.