Thousands of patients in Halstead could be at risk of receiving poor care from their GP, according to a new ratings system created by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The health watchdog has placed the Elizabeth Courtauld Surgery on a national list of 864 practices which could be putting patients at “risk” or “elevated risk” of poor care.

The practice, which has nearly 16,000 registered patients, will now be prioritised for inspection.

All 7,661 surgeries in England have been rated from one to six, with one being the most at risk of giving poor care, based on how they meet 38 key indicators.

Dr Bryan Spencer, of the Elizabeth Courtauld Surgery, said: “We have two risks in the red zone and two in the orange, which is not very much at all. They are not clinical, patient care type of things.

"We are far and away from being the worst even though we have been given a ranking of one. Some practices in Braintree have ten red risks and they are in the same rank as we are."

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