Almost one in three GP surgeries are failing in parts of the country, MailOnline can today reveal.

An exhaustive audit of all 6,000-plus practices across England shows 28 are rated ‘inadequate’ – the worst possible score.

Another 288 surgeries ‘require improvement’, according to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulator.

Exposing the postcode lottery patients face, MailOnline’s analysis shows that 29.4 per cent of surgeries in Barking and Dagenham fall short of standards.

Medway in Kent saw a similarly-high proportion of sub-par practices (24.2 per cent), with Greenwich in East London close behind (19.4 per cent).

Detailed results of MailOnline’s probe can be viewed in our interactive maps. 

One shows how well GP surgeries are performing overall in your area. The other lists every home and their individual scores.

Under CQC rules, practices are inspected on different timelines, dependent on their current rating. 

Homes are ranked on a Nando’s-style colour scale as ‘outstanding’ (blue), ‘good’, (green) ‘requires improvement’ (amber) or ‘inadequate’ (red).

‘Outstanding’ sites are visited every two-and-a-half years, while the CQC assesses ‘good’ practices at least every two years.

Those rated ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ are inspected more frequently, sometimes every six months. 

The CQC rates practices according to their safety, how effective the care provided is, attitude, responsiveness and leadership from senior figures. 

In Barking and Dagenham, London, two of 34 facilities were deemed ‘inadequate’ – meaning ‘the service is performing badly and we’ve taken action against the person or organisation that runs it’.

Eight were rated ‘requires improvement’. 

Only the Isles of Scilly boasts an outstanding score for all its GP surgeries – although it only has one.

One ‘inadequate’-rated surgery, Blossom Health in Gosport, was wilfully prescribing pregabalin to women of childbearing age, without informing them of the drug’s risk to pregnant women.  

Pregabalin is an anxiety and epilepsy drug that has been shown to potentially cause congenital malformations during pregnancy. 

Another, The Whitestone Surgery in Nuneaton, was, until recently, being run by a team of locums following the suspension of its lead GP by the General Medical Council.

The GP’s suspension last year came as the CQC believed people were at significant risk of harm were he to continue in the role. 

The practice is currently being run by the Coventry and Rugby GP Alliance in a caretaker capacity. 

The data from the CQC is correct as of March 3, 2025. As such, subsequent inspections and gradings any time after that will not be reflected and could be different. 

After years of rowing with the Government, GPs have agreed to new contract reforms which will ‘bring back the family doctor’.

Ministers hope it will banish the 8am scramble for appointments millions of frustrated patients have become accustomed to by allowing patients to book online throughout the day, instead of just when phonelines open.

GPs will also benefit from burdensome red tape being axed under the deal worth shy of £900million, such as the need to report on staff wellbeing meetings.

A growing population and dwindling workforce has fuelled the appointments crisis.

Increasing numbers of doctors are reducing their working hours and retiring early.

Some are leaving for the private sector or abroad because of the soaring pressures.

But those within the industry have said the problems extend simply beyond patient oversupply and understaffing. 

Dr Vikram Murthy, a GP at the ‘good’-rated Reach Healthcare Centre in Kent, told MailOnline that general practice in the UK was ‘at the cliffedge’.

He said: ‘The lack of resources is everywhere and nowhere is that shown better than in the 8am call rush that’s like something out of Hunger Games.

‘This current landscape is so much worse than in our parents’ generation when one GP served around 1,500 patients – now it could easily be 6,000 or more.’

Dr Murthy added that while Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the British Medical Association’s initiatives to take pressure off GP could be helpful in the short-term, a general recruitment crisis is at hand. 

He said: ‘Junior doctors and medical students prefer hospitals now because you know what you’re going to get. 

‘There really must be a push to get make it more attractive for them to come into GP and primary care.’ 

Dennis Silver from Silver Voices, a campaign group for the elderly, told MailOnline the shocking ratings come as no surprise. 

He said: ‘There’s been a lot of nice talk but not much action to improve people’s lives so far.

‘Wes Streeting made a big song and dance about the new GPs contract signed last month and how it would free them from some bureaucracy so they could focus on patients and return to the “age of the family doctor”.

‘The problem is the government needs to sort out with the doctors what they mean by “a return to the family doctor” because that means continuity of care with people seeing their own doctor on a regular basis and that is so far from actual reality on the ground.’  

One ‘inadequate’-rated surgery, Blossom Health in Gosport, was wilfully prescribing pregabalin to women of childbearing age, without informing them of the drug’s risk to pregnant women. Pregabalin is an anxiety and epilepsy drug that has been shown to potentially cause congenital malformations during pregnancy

Another, The Whitestone Surgery in Nuneaton, was, until recently, being run by a team of locums following the suspension of its lead GP by the General Medical Council

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: ‘GPs and our teams are delivering millions more appointments every month than five years ago but with only a handful more fully qualified, full-time GPs. 

‘We have raised repeated concerns that this is not safe for patients, nor sustainable for practices. 

‘Still, almost 95 per cent of GP practices in England are currently rated good or outstanding, and GPs and their teams are working incredibly hard to deliver safe and timely care for their patients even as they face unrelenting pressures.

‘However, where patient safety concerns have been raised, it is important that that practices are not vilified, but supported to improve, in the best interests of patients.

‘Patient safety is paramount in general practice, and the College recognises that if implemented effectively and proportionately, inspections of GP practices can help to keep patients safe, and support practices that are struggling. 

‘But following independent reviews, the College has significant concerns about the CQC’s current inspection processes. 

‘Our governing Council has called for a pause in routine inspections until improvements are made, and an end to “one word” ratings, in favour of alternatives that take into account the circumstances in which individual practices are working and provide greater support and transparency for patients and professionals.’