Patients in Enfield rank their GPs among the worst in the country, according to a new survey.

The survey of 4,786 patients in the Enfield CCG shows that just 78% rated their GP surgery as either very good or fairly good. Five years ago, it was 82%.

It means the CCG had significantly below average approval ratings for England for its GPs – with 3% describing their personal experience as ‘very poor’.

The figures – which come from the 2018 GP Patient Survey, conducted between January and March this year – show that across England 84% of people thought their GP services were good.

Addressing the national picture, Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, said: “GPs and our teams are performing well, in the best interests of patients, in incredibly difficult circumstances.

“Our workload has escalated in recent years, both in volume and complexity, but the share of the NHS budget our service receives is less than it was a decade ago, and GP numbers are falling.

“But patients are still waiting too long for a GP appointment, and too many are not getting an appointment when they want one.

“As well as being frustrating for patients, and GPs, this is concerning as it means patients might not be getting the treatment they need in the early stages of their condition – and their conditions will potentially become more serious.

“The plain truth is that existing GPs and our teams are working to absolute capacity and we just don’t have enough GPs to offer enough appointments."

The survey also shows that just 60% of people found it easy to get in touch with their GP's surgery on the phone – five years ago it was 74%.

But only 40% said that they knew that they could book appointments with their GP online – and just 14% had done so.

The data also shows that patients are seeing their GPs less often. In the last three months, 55% of those surveyed had seen their family doctor, down from 57% in 2013 – despite the newer figure including appointments with nurses at their practice.

Acting director of primary care for NHS England Dr Nikita Kanani said: “General practice is the foundation of the NHS and this survey shows patients appreciate the fantastic job GPs and the wider primary care work force are doing in times of real pressure, helping more people living with increasingly complex conditions.

"We are already putting record funding into primary care after years of underinvestment, with an additional £2.4 billion every year by 2020 to help drive improvements in care, including widening access with more GPs are in training than ever before – a record 3,157 began their studies last year.

"As we develop a long-term plan for the NHS, we will look to further build on these successes and this critical foundation."

The survey of patients in England has been redesigned and now includes 16- to 17-year-olds for the first time.