The NHS Choices website has deleted hundreds of comments it suspects of having been written by staff about their own practices, it was revealed last night.

So far staff have deleted nearly 2,000 public comments. The organisation says about a tenth of these were suspected of having been written by practice staff.

Comments made to a member of the public revealed that staff scrutinising the site are checking favourable comments to ensure they are not made by practice staff.

It emerged that NHS Choices staff have contacted thousands of people posting reviews to ensure they are genuine, often because the reviews are thought to be excessively favourable.

The revelation, reported in the Daily Telegraph, led to increased dismay among GP leaders about practice-rating on NHS Choices.

The British Medical Association has already voted for an end to patient reviews.

NHS Choices said that about 150,000 reviews a year are posted.

A spokesperson said: “We take the integrity of these reviews seriously because they inform patient choices, so if a concern is raised about a review (whether positive, negative or neutral) then we don’t publish it until we have investigated.

“Our investigations involve contacting the person who posted the review as often there is simply a misunderstanding

“The vast majority of the reviews that are removed are however due to mistaken identity. For example, where a review has been left for the wrong provider.”