THE BEST and worst GP surgeries in St Helens have been named.

St Helens' best and worst ranked surgeries have been identified in the results of new patient satisfaction survey.

The GP Patient Survey has rated Dr Rahil's Surgery in Old Whint Road, Haydock as the top surgery in town with a 100 per cent happiness rating, while Billinge Medical Practice in Recreation Drive came bottom of the table with a rating of just 56 per cent.

Collectively, 84 per cent of residents rated St Helens' Clinical Commissioning Group's surgeries as good - just under the national rate of 85 per cent.

The England-wide survey provides data about patient experiences of their GP practices, measuring experiences of waiting times, care quality, opening times, making appointments and out-of-hours services.

A total of 3,990 people took part in the survey in St Helens, and across the town 33 per cent of people said they had to wait too long to be seen. But just 25 per cent of patients at Bethany Medical Medical Centre and 35 per cent at Ormskirk House Surgery said they didn't have to wait too long.

An encouraging 93 per cent of residents had confidence and trust in their GP, with Dr Rahil's Surgery, Hall Street Medical Centre and Rainhill Village Surgery all scoring highly with 99 per cent.

Residents' confidence and trust in nurses wasn't quite as positive, with 82 per cent satisfied with them - Rainbow Medical Centre, in Elephant Lane, scored only 68 per cent and Park House Surgery, in Atlas Street, received 69 per cent.

Only 71 per cent of residents had a good experience of making an appointment with their doctor, with the worst performers in this category Billinge Medical Practice at 43 per cent and Mill Street Medical Centre at 49 per cent.

Just 65 per cent said it was easy to get through to their surgery by phone, with Mill Street Medical Centre and Billinge Medical Practice performing badly again with a ratings of 35 and 36 per cent, respectively.

Overall, 75 per cent of resident were satisfied with surgeries' opening hours and 69 per cent said their experience of out-of-hours services was good.

Meanwhile, 83 per cent of residents said they didn't use online services offered by the GP.

Twenty-five surgeries - around 70 per cent - achieved patient satisfaction ratings above or at the national average of 85 per cent, just five surgeries below 80 per cent.

The top 10 surgeries were:

Dr Rahil's Surgery (100 per cent)

The Acorn Project (97 per cent) * This practice has now closed

Kenneth MacRae Medical Centre (96 per cent)

Hall Street Medical Centre (96 per cent)

Lingholme Health Centre (95 per cent)

Rainhill Village Surgery (94 per cent)

Holly Bank Surgery (93 per cent)

Rainford Health Centre (93 per cent)

Park House Surgery (93 per cent)

The Crossroads Surgery (91 per cent)

The following surgeries scored patient satisfaction ratings below 80 per cent:

Billinge Medical Practice (56 per cent)

Patterdale Lodge Medical Centre (71 per cent)

Mill Street Medical Centre (74 per cent)

Cornerstone Surgery (74 per cent)

Four Acre Health Centre (77 per cent)

These results are based on 2015's survey and an update is expected in summer 2016.