THE standard of care offered by family doctors and their staff at the 22 practices in Newport has been classed as "extremely high" following an assessment as part of the new GP contract arrangements.

Practices were visited by two GP assessors, both from Torfaen, a Newport Local Health Board manager and a lay assessor between November last year and last month.

During the visits the team examined the services provided by the practices, the way the practices worked and took patients' views.

The work has been done as a first measure against a "quality and outcome framework" designed to set standards for the way practices operate.

The length of consultation time, access for patients within 24 hours of requesting an appointment, communication between GPs and patients and GPs and their staff, and how calls from patients asking for medical advice are handled, were among issues examined.

The performance target for Wales, set by the Assembly, is that by March, 2006, 80 per cent of surgeries must have achieved at least 700 points out of a possible 1,050 available from the assessment.

The average recorded for Newport is 950, well ahead of the target.