ONE in seven GP practices in England are still unsafe even after inspectors have told them to improve, according to a new report.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found that some practices are still failing patients in key areas despite being told they are inadequate or require improvement.

On first inspection, 27 per cent of GP practices in England were rated as requires improvement and 6 per cent were rated as inadequate for safety.

When failing practices were reinspected six months later, some had got better but 13 per cent of practices overall still required improvement and 2 per cent were inadequate for safety.

Only 1 per cent of practices were rated as outstanding for safety as of May this year.

The new report covered inspections between 2014 and earlier this year, with practices scored against a series of indicators, including whether they were effective, caring, safe and well-led.

Overall, 90 per cent of 7,365 practices were rated good or outstanding - the highest performing sector the CQC regulates.

But 8 per cent required improvement and 2 per cent were inadequate overall.

On safety, inspectors found that poor systems and processes to manage risk affected how safe patients were.

Issues included managing and giving out medicines and vaccines, managing serious incidents, and having appropriate equipment and medicines for emergency use.

The report also found that smaller practices were more likely to be rated inadequate or requires improvement whereas bigger practices and "super surgeries" fared better.

The report said: "Findings from our interviews suggest that in a larger practice it is easier to have staff with defined roles, and there is a greater likelihood that there will be well-functioning nursing teams where nurses focus on particular areas, such as diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and junior nurses take on task-oriented roles.

"Our qualitative analysis indicated that the factors that inhibited a higher rating for a smaller practice could be related to financial pressures and professional or clinical isolation.

"Although patients value single-handed GPs, it can be harder to deliver high-quality, innovative services as a team of one.

"Where there are more people working in a practice, and a larger patient list, it is easier to deliver a wider range of high-quality services and be innovative."

The report said super practices can have large numbers of doctors, with 60 or more in some cases.

More smaller surgeries are also working together.

Professor Steve Field, chief inspector of general practice at the CQC, said the "clear majority" of practices are safe and of a high quality.

"Where we identified concerns, most practices have taken action and improved. GPs, practice managers and other primary care staff should be commended for their efforts.

"The challenge is for this focus on quality to be maintained and for general practice to be supported in continuing to give patients this same high standard of care in future while embracing and driving the changes elsewhere in the system.

"The pressures on GPs are very real but we have found many practices are already delivering care in new and innovative ways to benefit their patients and the wider community."

The report found some parts of England had poorer practices than others, with London having the largest number (17 per cent) of practices rated as inadequate or requires improvement.

There were also concerns about some practices in the West Midlands and South East.

This contrasted to the North East, which had the largest percentage (98 per cent) of practices rated as good and outstanding, closely followed by Yorkshire and the Humber and the South West areas.