MANY borough residents have doctors' surgeries that are delivering a high standard of care, according to new figures released by the Department of Health.

The Quality and Outcomes Framework shows how well practices are providing medical services and rewards them with cash for their efforts.

Points have been awarded against more than 150 different targets ranging from patient record-keeping to treatment of chronic diseases.

The 25 surgeries covered by North Hampshire Primary Care Trust collectively achieved an average 92.5 per cent of the points on offer, which was above the national average of 91 per cent.

Dr Keith Ollerhead, chairman of the professional executive committee at North Hampshire PCT, which co-ordinates the work of GPs in the area, said: "We are very pleased. It's nice to have some good news and we will be working with surgeries to make sure we achieve even better results next year."

The highest points-scoring practice in Basingstoke and Tadley was the Gillies and Overbridge Medical Partnership, which includes both the Gillies Health Centre in Brighton Hill and the Overbridge Surgery in Worting Road.

With almost 20,000 patients, it collected 99.6 per cent of the points available.

Des McCarthy, practice manager, said: "To have scored so highly right across the board is really gratifying."

The Bermuda Surgery, in Shakespeare House, Shakespeare Road, Popley, was bottom of the Basingstoke list, picking up 708.7 points, or 67.5 per cent of the total available.

The surgery was taken over by Dr Paul Conley and his partners at the beginning of August, after the data had been collected.

Dr Conley said: "The practice had not been performing.

"There was a series of temporary doctors and other things, such as the computer system, needed a lot of improvement.

"We were awarded the tender with a remit to turn the practice around and that is what we will be judged on."

Nationally, the results were higher than expected but practices at the bottom were achieving scores of below 20 per cent.

A total of 1,050 points was on offer, with each point worth £77.50 to a practice, although the final sum was adjusted to take account of workload and the relative health of patients in their area.

This points-related system now accounts for about a third of a surgery's available funding.

First published: Monday, September 5, 2005