The latest NHS England GP Patient Survey has revealed which surgeries in Trafford are most and least likely to be viewed as having helpful reception and administrative teams. The data was gathered between 2 January and 13 April 2026 and published this month, covering a range of patient experience measures including ease of getting an appointment, continuity of care and overall experience.
Top-rated practices for reception helpfulness
Two surgeries in the borough returned perfect scores from respondents when asked about the helpfulness of reception and administrative staff. Both Riddings Family Health Centre and Timperley Health Centre (Westwood) recorded a 100% positive response on that question.
- Riddings Family Health Centre: 100% positive for reception helpfulness; also recorded the joint highest score for overall patient experience at 96%.
- Timperley Health Centre (Westwood): 100% positive for reception helpfulness.
What the surgeries said
Both practices issued statements thanking patients for their feedback and underlining a commitment to accessible, compassionate care. The Riddings practice described itself as a small, traditional family doctors surgery that aims to offer "friendly and individual patient-centred care" and said it looked forward to continuing to serve the community.
"Our whole team works incredibly hard to provide a high-quality, accessible and compassionate service, so it is very rewarding to see that reflected in the survey results."
Timperley Health Centre’s comment echoed gratitude for the responses and emphasised ongoing efforts to improve services and patient experience.
Survey scope and local picture
The GP Patient Survey is an annual, national exercise run by NHS England. It asks registered patients about multiple aspects of their interactions with GP practices. In Trafford the published results show a mixed picture across the borough: while a couple of surgeries achieved standout scores for reception helpfulness and overall experience, the survey also highlights variation between practices on other measures such as appointment access and seeing a preferred GP.
| Measure | Included in survey |
|---|---|
| Helpfulness of reception and admin team | Yes |
| Ease of getting an appointment | Yes |
| Often seeing preferred GP | Yes |
| Overall experience | Yes |
For patients, the results can be a useful prompt to review their practice’s performance and to raise concerns or praise where appropriate. Practices use the survey feedback as part of their quality assessment and service planning.
What this means for Trafford residents
While the top scores are cause for local recognition, the survey is just one measure of a practice’s performance and reflects the views of respondents during a specific period. Patients who have questions about the results, or who wish to discuss their own experience, should contact their GP practice directly or look up the full GP Patient Survey results on the NHS England website for detailed, practice-level data.
These published findings offer a snapshot of patient sentiment across multiple dimensions of general practice care in Trafford and will inform both patients and providers as services continue to adapt to local needs.
