NHS 2026 – The 10 best pharmacies in County Durham

Results of the NHS GP Patient Survey 2026 show how patients rated their experiences of using pharmacy services over the previous 12 months.

The survey asked patients whether they had used pharmacy services for reasons including picking up prescriptions, buying medication, getting health advice, having blood pressure checked, getting a vaccine, getting contraception without a GP prescription, or receiving support for a long-term condition.

It also asked those who had used pharmacy services to rate their experience as “very good”, “fairly good”, “neither good nor poor”, “fairly poor” or “very poor”.

A pharmacy service (Image: PA MEDIA)

The figures are grouped by GP practice, rather than by individual pharmacy, and show the proportion of patients at each practice who rated their experience of pharmacy services as “good” overall.

Consett Medical Centre, The Haven Surgery and West Rainton Surgery recorded the highest pharmacy services ratings among the County Durham practices listed, with 99 per cent of patients at each practice describing their experience as good.

At Consett Medical Centre, 75 per cent of patients said their experience was “very good”, while 24 per cent said it was “fairly good”.

The Haven Surgery recorded 70 per cent “very good” responses and 29 per cent “fairly good” responses, while West Rainton Surgery saw 81 per cent of patients describe their experience as “very good” and 18 per cent as “fairly good”.

The Horden Group Practice and Lanchester Medical Centre followed, both with 98 per cent of patients rating their experience of pharmacy services as good.

At The Horden Group Practice, 60 per cent of patients said their experience was “very good” and 38 per cent said it was “fairly good”.

At Lanchester Medical Centre, 70 per cent described their experience as “very good”, while 28 per cent said it was “fairly good”.

Belmont & Sherburn Medical Group, Byron Medical Practice and Villages Medical Group each recorded good ratings of 97 per cent.

Cheveley Park Medical Centre and Gainford Surgery completed the top 10, each with 96 per cent of patients rating their experience of pharmacy services as good.

The top 10 County Durham practices for pharmacy services

1. Consett Medical Centre — 99 per cent
2. The Haven Surgery — 99 per cent
3. West Rainton Surgery — 99 per cent
4. The Horden Group Practice — 98 per cent
5. Lanchester Medical Centre — 98 per cent
6. Belmont & Sherburn Medical Group — 97 per cent
7. Byron Medical Practice — 97 per cent
8. Villages Medical Group — 97 per cent
9. Cheveley Park Medical Centre — 96 per cent
10. Gainford Surgery — 96 per cent

The number of completed survey forms among the top 10 practices ranged from 73 at Villages Medical Group to 115 at Byron Medical Practice.

For the pharmacy services experience question specifically, the number of responses ranged from 62 at Villages Medical Group to 103 at Byron Medical Practice.

West Rainton Surgery had the highest proportion of patients saying their pharmacy services experience was “very good”, at 81 per cent.

Cheveley Park Medical Centre followed with 83 per cent, while Consett Medical Centre recorded 75 per cent.

All data was compiled from the NHS GP Patient Survey 2026 by adding together the proportion of patients who answered “very good” and “fairly good” when asked about their experience of using pharmacy services.

This data is only from people who participated in the survey.

The results are grouped by patients’ GP practice and do not rank individual pharmacies.