DO you struggle to get a doctor’s appointment in Colchester?

If so, you are probably not the only one.

Figures outlined by the Gazette earlier this week show there is just one GP per every 2,000 patients in north east Essex – but this figure alone does not tell the whole story.

Of the 12 different GP surgeries in Colchester, there are widely varying numbers of registered patients.

Colchester Medical Practice, which encompasses four different surgeries (Wimpole Road, Castle Gardens, Parsons Heath, and Shrub End) has 36,096 registered patients, according to the House of Commons Library – that's 26.7 per cent of Colchester's patients.

Creffield Medical Group, meanwhile, takes on about 13 per cent of Colchester’s patients, with 18,428 people registered.

At the other end of the scale, Tollgate Health Centre has only 2,198 patients, whilst Winstree Medical Practice has only 1,577 patients on its books.

Here is a table showing just how many patients are registered at your GP surgery in Colchester, and what proportion of the city's patients they look after.

In full

• Colchester Medical Practice: 36,096 (26.7 per cent)

• Creffield Medical Group: 18,428 (13.63 per cent)

• Abbey Field Medical Centre: 17,491 (12.9 per cent)

• Mill Road Surgery: 13,213 (9.8 per cent)

• Turner Road Surgery: 10,553 (7.8 per cent)

• East Hill Surgery: 8,701 (6.4 per cent)

• Ambrose Avenue Group Practice: 8,491 (6.3 per cent)

• Rowhedge Surgery: 7,467 (5.5 per cent)

• Highwoods Surgery: 6,930 (5.1 per cent)

• Bluebell Surgery: 3,469 (2.6 per cent)

• Tollgate Health Centre: 2,198 (1.6 per cent)

• Winstree Medical Practice: 1,577 (1.2 per cent)