SIX doctors' surgeries in Bolton are facing "priority inspections" — after the health watchdog raised concerns they could be falling below care standards.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has placed six GP surgeries in the town in its "highest concern" category — based on evidence of patients' experiences.

But the watchdog stressed that the new bandings — which have been published online as part of the CQC's new "intelligent monitoring" database — were not a judgement on the surgeries' quality, which will only be made once they have been inspected.

Practices in the "highest concern" band one in Bolton are Kildonan House in Horwich, Spring House Surgery in Bolton, Edgworth Medical Centre, Dr Samir Naseef in Deane, The Alastair Ross Medical Practice in Breightmet, and Stonehill Medical Centre in Farnworth.

Su Long, Chief Officer at NHS Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “The announcement by the CQC reflects initial analysis of publicly available data on GP practices.

"It is important to note that as yet no Bolton practices have been visited by the CQC as part of the new inspection regime.

"Our understanding is that the purpose of this exercise is simply to identify where to inspect, and when.

“NHS Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group will await, with interest, the results of the actual CQC inspections.”

The CQC rated 46 practices in Bolton based on patient surveys.

There were six surgeries placed in band one — the highest concern category meaning the practices face a priority inspection — one in band two; four in band three; three in band four; three in band five; and 29 in the "lowest concern" band six.

Professor Steve Field, chief inspector of GPs, said: "There is a lot of good and outstanding care taking place across the country as our data and recent reports show.

"While it is positive that 78 per cent of general practices are currently a low concern based on the available data, there is no reason for complacency and standards must continue to improve."

Surgeries were judged on 38 factors — such as access to appointments and treatment of patients.

The GP surgeries in Bolton have defended their practices in the wake of the report.

Kildonan House Group Practice said: "Although the practice is obviously disappointed, we consider that we offer our patients an accessible high quality service.

"The CQC themselves have said their reports released online were not simply a judgment on practices’ quality and that this can only be judged once practices have been inspected.'

"This represents our feelings too."

Stonehill Medical Centre said the report had to be put into context.

A statement by Dr Healey, Dr Chowdhury and practice manager Natalie Kakoullis said: "We acknowledge the CQC report and we appreciate our historic challenges to be recognised in the broader context.

"Out of the 38 indicators, the single indicator that has elevated our risk significantly relates to emergency admissions to hospital.

"To put this into context, our practice and branch surgery are situated in very close proximity to the Royal Bolton Hospital and our practice boundary covers the area around the hospital.

"We have a high rate of deprivation in the area and a high number of patients with complex health needs, which contributes significantly to variation in rates of hospital admissions.

"For many years we have experienced challenges with patients attending A&E as their first point of contact, as this is often closer to their home.

"We have unlimited same day access Monday to Friday 8am to 6.30pm with a GP or nurse practitioner for patients who need urgent medical attention, and we ask that patients contact us in the first instance.

"We are continually trying to improve patient experience in getting the care that they need both in emergencies or otherwise.

"Although we have tried various strategies to reduce hospital admissions, often for reasons beyond our control the rates have continued to remain high.

"We are working very closely with Bolton CCG and we are hopeful that in the near future our hospital admission rates will improve."

Spring House Surgery, Edgworth Medical Centre, Dr Samir Naseef, in Deane, and the Alastair Ross Medical Practice in Breightmet, were all unavailable for comment.