Fresh data, not a snapshot
Recently updated
Practice Grade is updated as new data is published. Here you can see every source we use and when its next release is expected, and what we have corrected.
The sources and the next release
Downloaded is the day we fetched the source. Data covers is the month or year the figures run to. The next release follows each publisher’s own rhythm and its published calendar where it has one, the same rhythm our weekly watch of the sources uses; a date is a plan, not a promise. When an expected release has passed by a margin, the table says Older than expected. That says something about the age of our copy, not about a practice.
| Source | Used for | Downloaded | Data covers | Next release expected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
GP Patient SurveyNHS England, run by Ipsos. Once a year, in July. | Patient experience in every grade (70%) and every survey figure | July 2027 | ||
Appointments in General PracticeNHS England Digital. Monthly, usually the last Thursday of the month. | Appointments within two weeks, one of the two shares behind access (30% of every grade), and the appointment facts | 29 October 2026 | ||
Cloud Based Telephony Data in General PracticeNHS England Digital. Monthly, usually the last Thursday of the month. | Calls answered, the other share behind access (30% of every grade) | 29 October 2026 |
| Source | Used for | Downloaded | Data covers | Next release expected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
GP Patient Survey, earlier years (2024 and 2025)NHS England, run by Ipsos. Past surveys, fixed; a new year joins them when the next survey is read in. | Each practice's trend over the survey years, context only | No fixed release | ||
Appointments in General Practice, month by monthNHS England Digital. Monthly, with each Appointments in General Practice release. | The month-by-month curve of the two-week measure on practice pages, context only | 29 October 2026 | ||
General Practice WorkforceNHS England Digital. Monthly, usually the fourth Thursday of the month. | Registered patients and GPs on practice pages | 22 October 2026Due now | ||
Quality and Outcomes FrameworkNHS England Digital. Once a year, in late August or September, for the year to 31 March. | Childhood vaccinations and cervical screening on practice pages | August 2027 | ||
Antibiotic prescribing by GP practiceUKHSA and OHID (Fingertips), from NHS Business Services Authority data. Quarterly, about four months after the quarter ends. | Antibiotic items and the broad-spectrum share on practice pages | October 2026 | ||
Seasonal flu vaccine uptake in GP patients, by local authorityUK Health Security Agency. Once a year in late May for the winter just ended; provisional monthly files from late November. | The flu vaccination card on area pages, context only | May 2027 | ||
Area background figures: population, deprivation, life expectancy, older people (Fingertips)OHID (Fingertips), from ONS, DWP, MHCLG, NHS England and CQC data. Yearly for each measure, spread over the year; Fingertips is being replaced by a new service. | "About the area" and "Older people" on area pages, context only | 2027 | ||
NHS Talking Therapies monthly statisticsNHS England Digital. Monthly, usually the second Thursday, two months after the month it covers. | Talking therapies waiting times for the NHS area covering an area, context only | 12 November 2026 | ||
A&E Attendances and Emergency AdmissionsNHS England. Monthly, the second Thursday, for the month before. | A&E waiting times by hospital and trust on the A&E pages, facts only | 12 November 2026 | ||
Referral to Treatment (RTT) Waiting TimesNHS England. Monthly, the second Thursday, two months after the month it covers. | Hospital waiting times by NHS trust and specialty on the waiting times pages, facts only | 12 November 2026 | ||
Friends and Family Test, GP practicesNHS England. Monthly, usually the second Thursday, two months after the month it covers. | Friends and Family Test answers on practice pages | 10 September 2026Older than expected | ||
CQC ratingsCare Quality Commission. Monthly, in the first days of the month. | The CQC rating shown beside ours | November 2026 | ||
NHS organisation data (ODS)NHS England Digital. Refreshed every night; the watch looks for practices that have closed or merged. | Which practices are open, their names, addresses and codes | No fixed release | ||
Postcode locations and local authority areasOffice for National Statistics, Ordnance Survey and Royal Mail. No fixed release; looked up again when we update. | Where each practice is, its area and distances | No fixed release |
Nothing shown beside the grade ever changes it. A new edition of a source is read in and checked by a person, and never changes a grade by itself. What each source is used for and its licence are on sources and licences.
Corrections
When we have got something wrong in the data or in a text, we correct it and write it down here, with the day and what changed. Found a mistake? Get in touch. To follow new releases and corrections, subscribe to the RSS feed or the JSON feed.
A practice in Wales, commissioned by a Welsh health board, was listed among England’s practices. It had no grade and was on no list. It is now left out.
A practice that only serves the residents of care homes was shown as an ordinary practice. Its page now says who it is for, and it is never placed on a top list or offered as a nearby alternative.
The guide to the GP Patient Survey did not say that practices with the same grade share a place on the lists of the best practices. It does now.
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
All sources and licences