Patients are being put at risk by poor safety procedures in GP practices across the country, a survey suggests.

Figures from the Medical Defence Union indicate that almost half of all clinics fail to learn from their mistakes.

A similar proportion has no guidelines in place to ensure nurses administer drugs and vaccines safely to patients.

Some areas were highlighted where patient safety might be compromised

Dr Patrick Hoyte, MDU

The survey also revealed that many practices are not doing enough to protect the privacy of patients.

Overall, 46% of practices had no adverse incident reporting or 'significant event audit' system in place.

'Near misses'

All practices will be required to have such systems in place by next year. They are designed to help practices identify any 'near misses' and to prevent more serious mistakes or errors from occurring.

The survey of 825 GPs from 330 practices across England also found that 42% had no drug protocols for nurses.

The same number did not have adequate confidentiality arrangements in reception areas to enable patients to discuss confidential matters out of earshot of other patients and staff.

A total of 3% of those questioned also had no procedures in place for dealing with complaints from patients. This is despite the fact that all GPs are supposed to have had systems in place as part of their NHS contract since 1996.

Similarly, one in five practices failed to inform patients that they had a complaints system even though they are supposed to.

Dr Patrick Hoyte, senior research fellow at the MDU and author of the survey, urged GP practices to tackle these failings.

"Some areas were highlighted where patient safety might be compromised.

"With government performance reviews well underway, this is a good time for practices to take a look at their systems and procedures to correct any deficiencies."

He added: "With over 90% of complaints resolved through the practice complaints procedure, they're also missing an opportunity to address patient's concerns at an early stage which is a great shame."