GP Patient Survey results 2026 published today
The 2026 GP Patient Survey results, which include information on patient experience of general practice, NHS dentistry and community pharmacy, have been published today.
The results of the survey show a positive uplift in patients’ experience of general practice, NHS dental and community pharmacy services when compared with 2025, reflecting a continued upward trend over the past two years.
Key findings include:
- 76.7 per cent had a good overall experience of their GP practice, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from 2025 (75.4 per cent).
- There has been a growth in people contacting their GP practice online or via the NHS App, with 30.8 per cent in 2026 compared to 22.4 per cent in 2025.
- More patients reported a positive experience of contacting their GP practice via phone or website/NHS App, with over half of patients describing making contact as ‘easy’.
- Use of online GP practice services has also increased – 79.2 per cent of respondents used online services in the last 12 months compared with 74.4 per cent in 2025.
- 73.5 per cent had a good overall experience of NHS dental services, an increase of 2.7 percentage points from 2025. 81.5 per cent of patients who tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years had been able to do so, a 3.3 percentage point increase from 2025 (78.2 per cent).
- 86.5 per cent of patients surveyed reported having used at least one pharmacy service in the last 12 months, and of those, 88.9 per cent had a good experience of using these pharmacy services (a 0.9 percentage point increase from 2025).
The results are a positive reflection of the hard work of teams in rolling out improvement measures; digital telephony and triage systems in general practice; Pharmacy First, which is providing more convenient access to care for patients with minor illnesses; and focusing on patients needing urgent dental care, all of which are making it easier for patients to access primary care.
