New figures show in October doctors at the Swan Surgery in Petersfield were the fifth worst in the country at seeing patients face to face.

The information comes after calls for practices to be held to account for failing to see patients in person.

More data reveals that in the year 2021-22 the surgery, which has 21,000 patients, was paid £5,757,996 by the NHS for care, treatments, Covid vaccinations, salaries, premises and other running costs.

The statistics are from NHS Digital, the trading name of the Health and Social Care Information Centre, which compiles information for the National Health Service of England.

But GP and Swan senior partner Dr Andrew Holden said the data did not give a true picture of a surgery rated outstanding in its last Care Quality Commission inspection.

He said: “NHS Digital has made it clear this data is experimental and doesn’t reflect factors important to us and our patients, such as quality of care, so should not be seen in isolation as an accurate reflection of the work happening within our practice.

“While it does show the number of practice appointments, it doesn’t recognise current circumstances and how we are working to ensure patients continue to receive the best possible care.

“This includes issues also seen nationally such as fewer GPs and difficulty recruiting.

“Swan Medical Group was rated outstanding at its last inspection by the Care Quality Commission.

“The latest review of this was in November 2022.

“We are increasingly seeing patients with more complex conditions, so have had to modernise the way we provide care.

“Anyone who needs to be seen face to face, either by a GP or another member of our fantastic multi-disciplinary team, will always be offered this.

“However, when appropriate, many patients are happy with the convenience a telephone or online consultation offers them.

“We recognise a GP is not always the best person for a specific need, so work hard to ensure patients are directed towards the right member of our team quickly.

“We know we don’t always get this right and patients have at times expressed their frustration at delays getting through to us or for an appointment.

“This has led to the introduction of other ways to access services including online consultation and significant investment in our new phone system.

“However, we recognise this isn’t for everyone and will continue to work alongside our patients to find ways to improve.”