The 2026 NHS General Practice Staff Survey (GPSS) is an independent survey of staff working in general practice. The aim is to gather information that will help to improve the working lives of staff and so help to provide better care for patients.
\nGPSS is coordinated on behalf of NHS England by the NHS Staff Survey Coordination Centre (SCC), based at Picker – an independent health and social care charity.
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GP practices and Primary Care Networks (PCNs) delivering primary medical care services under an NHS contract (GMS, PMS and APMS) are required to participate in the survey.
\nOther organisations working in general practice, such as federations or training hubs, may participate on a voluntary basis.
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Organisations must share staff names and email addresses via an online Qualtrics sampling portal to enable personalised survey links to be distributed to their staff in October. Personalised, direct communication increases response rates, and it helps to ensure that responses are accurately allocated to the correct organisations.
\nThis also ensures that we are using a consistent approach to sampling across participating organisations.
\nPlease use the link below to submit your organisation’s staff list:
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For any queries about participation, please contact your GPSS Integrated Care Board (ICB) lead in the first instance (see table below).
\n"},{"__typename":"WpPage_Flexcontent_FlexItems_Downloads","downloads":[{"name":"GPSS 2026 ICB contacts","file":{"localFile":{"extension":"xlsx","publicURL":"/static/1ed99bba9e0227b4ffda265ddf268832/GPSS-2026-ICB-Contacts-v2.xlsx","url":"https://cms.nhsstaffsurveys.com/app/uploads/2026/07/GPSS-2026-ICB-Contacts-v2.xlsx","size":12737}}}]},{"__typename":"WpPage_Flexcontent_FlexItems_Copy","copy":"For any other queries, or if you are unable to get in touch with your GPSS ICB lead, please contact gpss@surveycoordination.com.
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The General Practice Staff Survey (GPSS) helps us understand staff experiences so we can improve working conditions, patient care and reduce inequalities.
\n","title":"Why we run the survey"},{"description":"We process survey information under Article 6(1)(e) UK GDPR (public task), as it is necessary for the NHS to carry out its official duties.
\nThese duties are set out in the NHS Act 2006, including:
\n– Section 1 – promoting a comprehensive health service
\n– Section 1A – securing continuous improvement in service quality
\n– Section 13E – NHS England’s duty to improve service quality
\n– Section 13G – reducing inequalities
\nAdditional powers to use data
\nUnder Section 2 of the NHS Act 2006, NHS England can process personal information where needed to support its functions, such as contacting staff and managing the survey.
\nSensitive (special category) information
\nSome questions (for example about ethnicity, disability or health and wellbeing) collect sensitive personal data.
\nThis is processed lawfully under:
\n– Article 9(2)(h) UK GDPR – management of health and care systems
\n– Article 9(2)(g) UK GDPR – substantial public interest (including equality monitoring), supported by the Data Protection Act 2018
\nSupporting legal responsibilities
\nThe survey also helps the NHS meet wider legal duties, including:
\n– Public Sector Equality Duty (Equality Act 2010, Section 149): using evidence to identify discrimination risks and improve equality
\n– Employment law obligations (Article 9(2)(b) UK GDPR): supporting workforce-related responsibilities where relevant
\n– Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (Section 2): ensuring the health, safety and welfare of staff
\n","title":"Our legal basis"},{"description":"Personal information may be used to run and manage the survey, for example to contact staff about taking part.
\nSurvey results are usually reported in summary (anonymous) form, so individuals cannot be identified.
\n","title":"How information is used"},{"description":"Taking part in GPSS is completely voluntary for staff.
\nWe do not rely on consent as the legal basis, as processing is necessary for the NHS to carry out its statutory functions.
\n","title":"Staff participation"},{"description":"GP practices and other providers delivering the survey under NHS contracts (GMS, PMS, APMS) are also exercising official authority, and rely on the same legal basis.
\n","title":"Primary care organisations"}]}]}}},"pageContext":{"id":"cG9zdDoyNjA5"}},"staticQueryHashes":["1888905506","241935146","721254056"]}