Analysis shows that 28% of London practices rated to date were found to be lacking by the CQC during their inspection.
Practices in the capital are over twice as likely to receive a lower rating than those in the north of England, where just 11% of practices were found to ‘require improvement’ or be ‘inadequate’.
Some159 practices in London have been visited by inspectors so far – equivalent to around a ninth of those overall in the city.
Across the whole of England, 12% of practices have been rated ‘requires improvement’ and 4% ‘inadequate’.
But in London so far, 20% have been rated ‘requires improvement’ and 8% ‘inadequate’, a stark contrast to the national average and other areas of England.
Map: CQC GP practice ratings by CCG
The stats suggest that practices in the north of England are currently performing best overall, with just 7% requiring improvement and 4% being found ‘inadequate’.
In the Midlands and east of England, 13% were rated ‘requires improvement’ with 4% found ‘inadequate’.
Practices in the south of England appear to be the least likely to be rated ‘inadequate’ – with just 3% of practices receiving the bottom score. Some 13% were found to require improvement.
The watchdog has released ratings for 1,366 GP practices so far, around a sixth of the total number in England. It expects to have inspected, rated and published its findings on all practices by October 2016.
