Practices are getting safer, inspectors have reported – and most have successfully passed inspections.

The annual report of the Care Quality Commission found that 93% of practices are now rated as “safe.”

Overall 91% of practices were rated as good and 5% as outstanding. Both represented one percentage point improvements on 2017. The Royal College of GPs praised the “impressive” feat of practices in delivering improvements despite the pressures on their services.

Chair Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard said: “We are particularly heartened to see the rise in the number of practices that have progressed to good. The College’s own Peer Support Programme has been a major factor in many of these transformations and I would like to congratulate our teams and the practices involved.

“This is no mean feat and made even more impressive when we consider the intense workforce and resource pressures currently facing our profession, and the enormous efforts GPs and their teams put in every single day in order to keep their practices running and their patients safe.”

She added: “However, while these figures are testament to the outstanding work and dedication of GPs and our wider practice colleagues, the pressures on our service remain very real and the CQC must be mindful of this and ensure that it does not add to the burdens upon us.”

CQC chair Peter Wyman said: “The fact that quality has been broadly maintained in the face of enormous challenges on demand, funding and workforce is a huge testament to staff and leaders.”