Every year the NHS commissions the reputable pollster IPSOS-MORI to conduct a survey of patient experience at GP surgeries throughout England. There are about 50 questions in the survey and the pollsters try to get a good number of people at each surgery to complete the survey. We now have results for many years.
The problem lies in how to interpret the results. If 90% of patients surveyed think that their surgery is good or very good - is that a good result. Put another way if 10% of patients say their survey is not good - is that good enough.
In the attached paper our Data Officer Francis Brown argues that comparing each surgery with the full range of others, by ranking all surgeries, can give each an idea of how well they are really perceived by their patients.