GP Phone Access Statistics 2026: Every Integrated Care System Ranked
15+ years in UK Telecom | Last updated: Aug 2026
Executive Summary
Getting through to a GP practice by phone is getting easier. That is not the story most people expect, and it is what the data shows.
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 56.9 per cent of patients said it was easy to get through to their practice by phone. In 2025 the figure was 52.9 per cent. That is an improvement of four percentage points in a single year, and every one of the 30 integrated care systems with comparable data improved.
The problem is what sits underneath the national average.
43.1 per cent of patients still do not find it easy to get through. And the gap between the best and worst parts of England is 17.6 percentage points, which is more than four times the size of the national annual improvement.
This report ranks all 36 integrated care systems on phone access, shows the year on year movement for each, and identifies where the gap is widest. Every figure is taken directly from the published survey data files.
Key Takeaways
Key GP Phone Access Statistics
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Patients finding it easy to get through, 2026 | 56.9% |
| Patients finding it easy to get through, 2025 | 52.9% |
| Year on year change | +4.0 percentage points |
| Patients not finding it easy, 2026 | 43.1% |
| Best performing ICS | 65.7% |
| Worst performing ICS | 48.1% |
| Spread between best and worst | 17.6 points |
| ICSs below the national average | 18 of 36 |
| ICSs that improved year on year | 30 of 30 |
| Survey responses received | 654,714 |
Source: NHS England GP Patient Survey 2026 and 2025. Rankings and calculations by The VoIP Shop.
Is Phone Access to GPs Getting Better or Worse?
Better, and consistently so.
The GP Patient Survey asks patients how easy it was to get through to their practice on the phone. In 2026, 56.9 per cent answered positively, against 52.9 per cent in 2025.
More striking than the national figure is the consistency underneath it. Of the 30 integrated care systems with comparable data across both years, all 30 improved. Not one went backwards.
That is unusual in any national performance measure and The consistency of the improvement suggests that changes in how practices handle calls may be contributing, although the survey itself does not establish the cause.
The survey behind these figures is large. 2,968,415 questionnaires were distributed and 654,714 were returned, a response rate of 22.1 per cent, covering a registered population of 51.6 million.
How Many Patients Still Cannot Get Through?
43.1 per cent.
This is the figure the improvement narrative tends to bury. More than two in five patients who tried to phone their GP practice did not find it easy to get through.
An improvement of four percentage points a year is real progress. It is also slow progress measured against a 43.1 per cent shortfall.
Every Integrated Care System Ranked
The national average describes almost nobody. Here is every integrated care system in England, ranked on the percentage of patients who found it easy to get through by phone.
| Rank | Integrated Care System | 2026 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Herefordshire and Worcestershire | 65.7% | 61.3% | +4.4 |
| 2 | Coventry and Warwickshire | 64.3% | 60.3% | +4.0 |
| 3 | South West London | 63.7% | 60.8% | +2.9 |
| 4 | Greater Manchester | 62.8% | 57.3% | +5.5 |
| 5 | Dorset | 62.7% | 59.2% | +3.5 |
| 6 | Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent | 62.6% | 57.0% | +5.6 |
| 7 | Gloucestershire | 62.0% | 58.9% | +3.1 |
| 8 | West and North London | 61.8% | not comparable | |
| 9 | North East and North Cumbria | 61.6% | 56.7% | +4.9 |
| 10 | Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire | 61.6% | 58.4% | +3.2 |
| 11 | Lancashire and South Cumbria | 61.1% | 57.3% | +3.8 |
| 12 | Norfolk and Suffolk | 60.8% | not comparable | |
| 13 | Somerset | 60.0% | 57.4% | +2.6 |
| 14 | Humber and North Yorkshire | 59.0% | 55.7% | +3.3 |
| 15 | Devon | 58.7% | 56.8% | +1.9 |
| 16 | Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly | 58.4% | 53.1% | +5.3 |
| 17 | South East London | 57.0% | 52.6% | +4.4 |
| 18 | Cheshire and Merseyside | 56.9% | 52.2% | +4.7 |
| 19 | Thames Valley | 56.3% | not comparable | |
| 20 | North East London | 55.0% | 51.2% | +3.8 |
| 21 | Surrey and Sussex | 54.8% | not comparable | |
| 22 | Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire | 54.6% | 48.9% | +5.7 |
| 23 | Lincolnshire | 54.1% | 50.9% | +3.2 |
| 24 | South Yorkshire | 53.6% | 49.6% | +4.0 |
| 25 | Black Country | 53.3% | 47.9% | +5.4 |
| 26 | West Yorkshire | 53.1% | 51.3% | +1.8 |
| 27 | Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin | 52.8% | 52.1% | +0.7 |
| 28 | Central East | 52.4% | not comparable | |
| 29 | Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 52.1% | 48.8% | +3.3 |
| 30 | Nottingham and Nottinghamshire | 52.0% | 50.1% | +1.9 |
| 31 | Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland | 51.4% | 48.2% | +3.2 |
| 32 | Northamptonshire | 51.4% | 44.2% | +7.2 |
| 33 | Birmingham and Solihull | 50.7% | 44.6% | +6.1 |
| 34 | Derby and Derbyshire | 50.6% | 48.8% | +1.8 |
| 35 | Essex | 50.4% | not comparable | |
| 36 | Kent and Medway | 48.1% | 44.4% | +3.7 |
Six systems have no directly comparable 2025 figure following boundary changes.
Where Is the Gap Widest?
17.6 percentage points separate the best and worst systems in England.
In Herefordshire and Worcestershire, 65.7 per cent of patients found it easy to get through. In Kent and Medway, 48.1 per cent did.
A patient in Herefordshire and Worcestershire is 1.37 times more likely to find it easy to reach their GP than a patient in Kent and Medway.
Eighteen of the 36 systems sit below the national average. Sixteen are below 55 per cent. Twelve are above 60 per cent.
How long would it take the worst to catch up?
Kent and Medway improved by 3.7 percentage points in the last year. Sustaining exactly that rate, it would take almost five more years to reach the level Herefordshire and Worcestershire has already achieved today.
That is the practical meaning of a 17.6 point gap. It is not a rounding difference between neighbours. It is roughly five years of progress.
Who Improved Most?
| Integrated Care System | Change |
|---|---|
| Northamptonshire | +7.2 |
| Birmingham and Solihull | +6.1 |
| Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire | +5.7 |
| Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent | +5.6 |
| Greater Manchester | +5.5 |
| Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin | +0.7 |
| West Yorkshire | +1.8 |
| Derby and Derbyshire | +1.8 |
| Devon | +1.9 |
| Nottingham and Nottinghamshire | +1.9 |
The systems improving fastest are mostly those starting lowest. Northamptonshire, Birmingham and Solihull, and Bristol all began below 49 per cent and made the largest gains.
That pattern matters. It suggests the gap is closing rather than widening, and that the worst performing areas are not stuck.
What This Means for UK Organisations
Three things follow from the data, and they apply well beyond general practice.
The national average conceals the problem. A figure of 56.9 per cent contains systems at 65.7 and systems at 48.1. Any organisation looking at a single average across multiple sites is likely hiding a similar spread.
Improvement is possible and it is happening quickly. Thirty out of thirty systems improved in one year. Whatever is driving that, it is not a slow structural fix. Phone access responds to intervention faster than most performance measures.
Measurement is what makes the difference visible. GP phone access is published annually at practice, system and national level. That is why the variation can be seen at all. Most organisations never measure whether callers get through, so they cannot know which of their sites is the equivalent of Kent and Medway.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of patients can get through to their GP by phone?
56.9 per cent found it easy to get through in 2026, up from 52.9 per cent in 2025. That leaves 43.1 per cent who did not find it easy.
Is GP phone access improving?
Yes. All 30 integrated care systems with comparable data improved between 2025 and 2026, and the national figure rose by four percentage points.
Which area has the best GP phone access?
Herefordshire and Worcestershire, at 65.7 per cent.
Which area has the worst?
Kent and Medway, at 48.1 per cent.
How big is the gap between areas?
17.6 percentage points. A patient in the best performing system is 1.37 times more likely to find it easy to get through than one in the worst.
Where does this data come from?
The NHS England GP Patient Survey, published annually by Ipsos. Figures here are taken from the 2026 and 2025 national and integrated care system data files.
How large is the survey?
2,968,415 questionnaires were distributed for the 2026 survey and 654,714 were returned, a response rate of 22.1 per cent.
Methodology and Data Sources
Published source
NHS England GP Patient Survey 2026 and 2025
Administered by Ipsos. gp-patient.co.uk/latest-survey-results-materials
Figures are taken from the national weighted data file and the integrated care system weighted data file for each year. The measure used is the published positive evaluation score for the question on ease of getting through to the practice by phone.
Our calculations
Ranking. All 36 integrated care systems ordered by their 2026 score. Not published in ranked form by the survey.
Year on year change. 2026 score minus 2025 score, in percentage points, for the 30 systems with comparable data across both years.
Patients not finding it easy. 100 minus 56.9 gives 43.1 per cent.
Spread. 65.7 minus 48.1 gives 17.6 percentage points.
Relative likelihood. 65.7 divided by 48.1 gives 1.37.
Years to parity. The gap of 17.6 points divided by Kent and Medway's own annual improvement of 3.7 points gives 4.8 years. This assumes the current rate is sustained and that the leading system does not improve further, so it should be read as an illustration of the size of the gap rather than a forecast.
A note on comparability
Six integrated care systems have no directly comparable 2025 figure because of boundary changes. They are ranked on 2026 data and excluded from the year on year analysis.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
This page is updated when each annual GP Patient Survey is published.
Citation and Usage Rights
This report may be cited, quoted, or referenced in full or in part, provided attribution is given to:
"GP Phone Access Statistics 2026 [The VoIP Shop]"
Journalists and researchers are welcome to use the integrated care system ranking and the year on year comparison with attribution.
About Phone Access in Your Organisation
The VoIP Shop is the UK's only 5 star rated VoIP provider with 24/7 UK based support and NHS Framework approval.
Most organisations never measure whether callers actually get through. If you want to know what your own figure looks like, we can tell you.
Written By | About the Author
Kully Hothi
has over 15 years of experience in the VoIP and telecoms industry. Drawing on a background in telecoms sales and leadership, he provides expert, impartial advice on VoIP and cloud telephony solutions. As a lead author for The VoIP Shop,
Kully Hothi
helps businesses understand and adopt modern communication technologies
