GP practices in Essex: access, ratings and patient survey
Essex covers 204 GP practices with 2,007,948 registered patients (September 2026). 74% of patients described their overall experience as good in the 2026 GP Patient Survey, the 29th highest of 36 ICBs (England: 77%). There are 2,514 patients per qualified GP, against 2,171 across England.
Latest data: September 2026. Registered patients September 2026; GP Patient Survey 2026.
| Survey question | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|
| Overall experience good | 74% | 77% |
| Easy to contact by phone | 50% | 57% |
| Easy to contact via the website | 56% | 58% |
| Easy to contact via the NHS App | 51% | 54% |
| Reception team helpful | 83% | 85% |
| Last contact good | 70% | 73% |
| Wait for appointment about right | 70% | 69% |
| Listened to well | 84% | 87% |
| Treated with care and concern | 83% | 86% |
| Confidence and trust in the clinician | 91% | 93% |
| Needs met | 89% | 90% |
There are 2,514 registered patients per full-time-equivalent qualified GP in Essex, more than England's 2,171. Practices recorded 480 appointments a month per 1,000 patients (England: 510), 69% of them face to face. 45% of appointments took place on the day they were booked (England: 45%). 20% of registered patients are aged 65 or over (England: 19%).
| Measure | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|
| Patients per qualified GP | 2,514 | 2,171 |
| Appointments per 1,000 patients a month | 480 | 510 |
| Face-to-face appointments | 69% | 63% |
| Same day as booked | 45% | 45% |
| Did not attend | 3% | 4% |
| Patients aged 65 or over | 20% | 19% |
Patients per qualified GP by council area, for practices located in each.
| Council area | Practices | Registered patients | Patients per GP | Same-day appointments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redbridge | 41 | 366,500 | 3,105 | 51% |
| Maldon | 7 | 60,256 | 2,811 | 33% |
| Thurrock | 26 | 188,030 | 2,785 | 49% |
| Harlow | 8 | 105,454 | 2,761 | 49% |
| Tendring | 17 | 163,715 | 2,699 | 39% |
| Castle Point | 13 | 88,217 | 2,685 | 43% |
| Basildon | 26 | 213,426 | 2,620 | 52% |
| Southend-on-Sea | 24 | 196,786 | 2,599 | 49% |
| Braintree | 15 | 151,005 | 2,576 | 42% |
| Colchester | 15 | 216,240 | 2,433 | 39% |
| Brentwood | 8 | 81,398 | 2,423 | 43% |
| Chelmsford | 15 | 213,672 | 2,378 | 45% |
| Epping Forest | 12 | 121,350 | 2,329 | 50% |
| Uttlesford | 8 | 100,701 | 2,127 | 49% |
| Rochford | 10 | 99,300 | 2,098 | 41% |
Among practices with at least 100 survey responses, St James Surgery has the highest share of patients rating their overall experience good (96%) and The Hollies Surgery the lowest (42%).
| Practice | Town | Overall experience good | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|
| St James Surgery | Clacton On Sea | 96% | 105 |
| Conner and Partners | Hockley | 94% | 100 |
| The Coggeshall Surgery | Colchester | 94% | 109 |
| The Highwood Surgery | Brentwood | 93% | 112 |
| Southend Road Surgery | Stanford-le-hope | 92% | 112 |
| The Freshford Practice | Braintree | 91% | 113 |
| Dr H W Ng & Partner | Southend On Sea | 91% | 114 |
| William Fisher Medical Centre | Southminster | 91% | 110 |
| Dr Hazim Ahmad | Manningtree | 91% | 118 |
| Mersea Island Medical Practice | Colchester | 91% | 109 |
| Peartree Surgery and West Horndon Surgery | South Ockendon | 51% | 108 |
| Aveley Medical Centre | South Ockendon | 49% | 117 |
| The Limes Medical Centre | Epping | 49% | 111 |
| Sutherland Lodge Surgery | Chelmsford | 49% | 100 |
| Nuffield House Doctors Surgery | Harlow | 48% | 117 |
| Collingwood Road Surgery | Witham | 47% | 100 |
| Dr M Aslam's Practice | Basildon | 43% | 114 |
| Dr Reshma Rasheed | Billericay | 43% | 115 |
| Silver End Surgery | Witham | 42% | 167 |
| The Hollies Surgery | Benfleet | 42% | 102 |
Relative to England, the register furthest above England's rate at practices in Essex is palliative care (0.7% against 0.6%), and the furthest below is osteoporosis (0.7% against 1.2%).
| Condition register | Age group | Essex (2024/25) | England | Patients on register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure | All ages | 15.9% | 15.2% | 319,999 |
| Depression | 18+ yrs | 12.8% | 14.3% | 204,601 |
| Diabetes | 17+ yrs | 7.9% | 7.9% | 127,240 |
| Asthma | 6+ yrs | 6.7% | 6.6% | 125,896 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 18+ yrs | 5.0% | 4.6% | 79,370 |
| Cancer | All ages | 3.8% | 3.8% | 75,966 |
| Coronary heart disease | All ages | 2.9% | 3.0% | 57,849 |
| Atrial fibrillation | All ages | 2.4% | 2.2% | 47,297 |
| Stroke and TIA | All ages | 1.9% | 1.9% | 37,902 |
| COPD | All ages | 1.9% | 1.9% | 37,392 |
| Heart failure | All ages | 1.1% | 1.1% | 21,692 |
| Dementia | All ages | 0.9% | 0.8% | 18,517 |
| Serious mental illness | All ages | 0.9% | 1.0% | 18,333 |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 16+ yrs | 0.9% | 0.8% | 14,627 |
| Epilepsy | 18+ yrs | 0.8% | 0.8% | 12,648 |
| Palliative care | All ages | 0.7% | 0.6% | 14,442 |
| Osteoporosis | 50+ yrs | 0.7% | 1.2% | 5,125 |
| Learning disability | All ages | 0.6% | 0.6% | 11,224 |
| Peripheral arterial disease | All ages | 0.5% | 0.6% | 9,380 |
- Abbey Field PCN (6 practices)
- Aegros Health PCN (4 practices)
- Asop PCN (5 practices)
- Benfleet PCN (7 practices)
- Billericay PCN (5 practices)
- Braintree PCN Ltd (3 practices)
- Brentwood PCN (8 practices)
- Canvey PCN (6 practices)
- Central Basildon PCN (8 practices)
- Chelmer PCN (4 practices)
- Chelmsford City Health PCN (4 practices)
- Chelmsford West PCN (2 practices)
- Clacton PCN (4 practices)
- Colne Valley PCN (6 practices)
- Creffield Medical Group PCN (2 practices)
- Dengie & South Woodham Ferrers PCN (6 practices)
- East Basildon PCN (4 practices)
- Epping Forest North PCN (6 practices)
- Grays PCN (7 practices)
- Harlow North PCN (5 practices)
- Harlow South PCN (3 practices)
- Loughton Buckhurst Hill & Chigwell PCN (7 practices)
- Maldon & Witham PCN (6 practices)
- North Colchester PCN (7 practices)
- North Uttlesford PCN (4 practices)
- Rayleigh and District PCN (6 practices)
- Rochford PCN (4 practices)
- South Uttlesford PCN (4 practices)
- Southend East PCN (4 practices)
- Southend Victoria PCN (9 practices)
- Southend West Central PCN (5 practices)
- Ss9 North PCN (3 practices)
- Ss9 South PCN (2 practices)
- Stanford-le-Hope PCN (6 practices)
- Stour Estuary PCN (5 practices)
- Tendring PCN (7 practices)
- Tilbury and Chadwell PCN (8 practices)
- West Basildon PCN (5 practices)
- Wickford PCN (3 practices)
- Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire (81% overall experience good)
- Birmingham and Solihull (73% overall experience good)
- Black Country (74% overall experience good)
- Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (78% overall experience good)
- Central East (75% overall experience good)
- Cheshire and Merseyside (78% overall experience good)
- Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (79% overall experience good)
- Coventry and Warwickshire (81% overall experience good)
- Derby and Derbyshire (76% overall experience good)
- Devon (79% overall experience good)
- Dorset (80% overall experience good)
- Gloucestershire (81% overall experience good)
- Greater Manchester (79% overall experience good)
- Hampshire and Isle of Wight (74% overall experience good)
- Herefordshire and Worcestershire (80% overall experience good)
- Humber and North Yorkshire (79% overall experience good)
- Kent and Medway (73% overall experience good)
- Lancashire and South Cumbria (78% overall experience good)
- Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (73% overall experience good)
- Lincolnshire (74% overall experience good)
- Norfolk and Suffolk (80% overall experience good)
- North East London (71% overall experience good)
- North East and North Cumbria (80% overall experience good)
- Northamptonshire (74% overall experience good)
- Nottingham and Nottinghamshire (74% overall experience good)
- Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin (77% overall experience good)
- Somerset (79% overall experience good)
- South East London (76% overall experience good)
- South West London (81% overall experience good)
- South Yorkshire (77% overall experience good)
- Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent (80% overall experience good)
- Surrey and Sussex (78% overall experience good)
- Thames Valley (76% overall experience good)
- West Yorkshire (76% overall experience good)
- West and North London (75% overall experience good)
How many GP practices are in Essex?
204, with 2,007,948 registered patients in September 2026.
How do patients rate GP practices in Essex?
74% described their overall experience as good in the 2026 GP Patient Survey, the 29th highest of 36 ICBs.
How many patients are there per GP in Essex?
2,514 per full-time-equivalent qualified GP, against 2,171 across England.
What share of GP appointments in Essex are face to face?
69%, against 63% across England.