SEVERAL GP surgeries in the Braintree district have been rated as below average by their patients, according to an independent survey.

Out of 11 practices in Braintree, Witham, Kelvedon, Coggeshall and Feering, only two exceeded the national average of 85 per cent of patients rating them as good.

Mount Chambers Surgery, in Braintree, was rated the second worst in mid Essex, after St Lawrence, which has been replaced by Church Lane Surgery.

Patient Jasmine Coe said: “I go to Mount Chambers, it is incredibly hard to get an appointment and the reception staff never really see your reason as good enough to see a doctor.

“Overall not impressed, but it’s too difficult to try and get in to any other doctors.”

Coggeshall Surgery, a practice with two GPs, performed top out of all practices in mid Essex, with 98 per cent of patients rating it good.

A spokesman said: “We are delighted to be recognised for providing a good service to our patients. Patient care is very important to us here at Coggeshall Surgery and this is very much a team effort.

“We hope to continue to excel, despite everyone in the NHS working under increasingly difficult circumstances.”

The newest practice in Braintree, Church Lane Surgery, was not included in the results, but has only achieved a rating of 1.5 out of five on the NHS Choices website, with users complaining about prescriptions and appointments.

The surgery opened in March at its £1.8m purpose-built premises in The College at Braintree.

It was hoped the surgery, with 13,000 patients, would improve patients’ experience and help with an increasing demand for services.

A spokesman for mid essex clinical commissioning group said: “We know access to GP services in the Braintree town area is causing some patients difficulty.

“There are issues nationally around GP workforce, but our area has particular challenges.

“Two Braintree practices have seen contractual changes in the past year, which inevitably led to some disruption reflected in survey results.

“We hope people’s experiences improve as disruption is resolved, and we are working closely with practices on dealing with problems together.”

The GP patient survey is run by a market research organisation on be- half of NHS England