THREE GP surgeries in the town have been ranked in the 'highest risk band' of providing poor care by health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Penketh Health Centre on Honiton Way, Stockton Heath Medical Centre on London Road and The Surgery on Holes Lane in Woolston were part of the 11 per cent of practices nationally which were ranked at the top of the 'highest concern' scale.

All three surgeries received worse than average responses over how easy it was for patients to get through on the phone with Penketh Health Centre getting half the score the CQC would expect.

Woolston and Stockton Heath also scored poorly over patients being able to overhear others in the reception and the level of satisfaction from patients over opening hours.

Respondents to Penketh's patient survey also gave it a lower than expected score regarding whether the nurse was 'good or very good at treating them with care and concern'.

The watchdog said the register did not necessarily indicate poor GP surgery performance but would instead be used to help target inspections.

In about three per cent of high-concern practices across the country, patients stated they had difficulties in getting an appointment to see a GP or nurse and in about one sixth of practices patients had a 'limited ability' to get appointments.

Dr Andrew Davies, GP Chair NHS Warrington CCG said: “Three Warrington practices have been identified as being in Band 1, the first group to be inspected.

"The Intelligent Monitoring tool helps the CQC to decide which Band each practice is in.

"On-site inspections will then determine the quality of care that the GP practices are providing.

"The CCG will continue to work with all member practices to ensure they provide quality care to their registered patients."

The news adds to a difficult month for Stockton Heath Medical Centre who told patients on Friday they could only see emergency cases after a practice GP was off sick.

A spokesman added: "On Friday the healthcare team at Stockton Heath Medical Centre treated nearly 250 patients.

"As a surgery, we pride ourselves on the emergency care that is provided to our patients and there are times when demand for urgent care has an impact on the number of routine appointments that are available because we always accommodate patients who have an urgent health need.

"Patients with more minor conditions can help ease this strain by using alternative health services like NHS 111, pharmacy services and self-care.

"We want to apologise to any patient who was inconvenienced on Friday, our practice staff are working very hard to meet demands and will continue to do so over the coming weeks and months."

Visit stocktonheathmedicalcentre.co.uk or for further 'self-care' guidance.