Willesden Green Surgery shortlisted for national NHS award

Willesden Green Surgery has been shortlisted for a national NHS award after achieving the highest patient experience scores in England for a large practice. The surgery, based in Brent, is one of nine finalists for Primary Care Provider of the Year at the 2026 HSJ Awards, as reported by the Times Series.

The practice scored 90% for overall patient experience in the 2026 GP Patient Survey, published by NHS England in July. This is significantly above the England average of 76.7%. Among London practices with more than 15,000 patients, only six reached 90% or higher.

Perfect reception score

Willesden Green Surgery’s reception team received a perfect 100% helpfulness score in the same survey. NHS England confirmed this is the only large practice in England to achieve this. The surgery serves around 15,000 patients from its Anson Road site.

“Being shortlisted for an HSJ Award from more than 1,300 entries is an incredible honour for our whole team. But the recognition that means the most comes from our patients. To have 90% rate their overall experience as good, and 100% say our reception team is helpful, means the world to us.”

Dr Muhammad Najim, lead GP at Willesden Green Surgery

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Local roots and innovation

Dr Muhammad Najim said most of the surgery’s 50 staff were born or live locally. He described the team as looking after neighbours and people they grew up with. The practice was shortlisted for its project, "The Neighbourhood Left Shift," which combines preventive care with early diagnoses and offers hospital-grade services in a community setting.

The surgery was founded by Dr Zuhair Najim in 1997 and has remained under the same family’s care for nearly 30 years. Dr Muhammad Najim said the team never imagined receiving national recognition two years running.

Premises challenges and relocation plans

Willesden Green Surgery faces premises challenges, as reported by the Times Series. Its Anson Road site has the least space per patient of any conventional GP practice in north west London. Plans are under consideration to relocate to the disused Gladstone Centre site, subject to planning approval.

It is unclear when a planning application will be submitted or when a decision might be made. Brent Council would be the responsible authority for any planning approval.