ON page 2 of the Warrington Guardian, December 4, there was a major article under the headline ‘High Risk ranking issued to three GP surgeries’.

It named and shamed three GP surgeries in the Warrington area which had been included ‘in the highest risk band of providing health care’ in a report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Within days of the publishing of this report, the BBC had exposed serious errors in terms of its analytical methods and its style of presenting the data.

Within hours, Sir Mike Richards, chief inspector of the CQC, had acknowledged the errors, apologised to hundreds of practices around the country and felt obliged to have the data revised by applying a new banding system to define levels of patient risk.

Given that this serious development was well covered by the national press within days, I expected to see it reported in this week’s copy of the Guardian.

It may be true that some of our local surgeries have less than a perfect reputation, particularly for their poor appointment booking arrangements, but it must be of concern to patients that some have been unfairly exposed as operating at ‘high risk’.

We will have to wait for a CQC reappraisal of all the country’s clinics but it has already conceded that the highest risk band was illdefined and to be withdrawn.

Meantime, without follow-up by the Guardian, some patients in Warrington may remain unduly worried by what they read in your December 4 issue.

MIKE OWEN Appleton