Patients across Sussex can check how their GP surgery is performing following the publication of new figures.

The data shows how practices are rated on criteria including appointment times, flu jabs and care of chronically-ill patients.

It was gathered from a national payment system introduced in 2004 which awards GPs points for clinical care, patient experience and extra services.

GPs are then paid by their primary care trusts (PCTs) according to their scores.

The more points the practice achieves and the more services it provides, the more money it earns, although the final sum is adjusted to take account of workload and the health of patients in the area.

The maximum score per practice is 1,051. The average score for England was 959.

Nine of the ten PCTs in Sussex reported an average score for practices in their area above 959.

Brighton and Hove City, which has 49 practices, was well below average with a score of 867, 83 per cent of the total available.

Best performance was in Mid Sussex whose 17 practices scored an average of 1,028. It was closely followed by Bexhill and Rother with 1,016 while Horsham and Chanctonbury and Crawley PCTs both scored 1,012. The three have 37 practices.

Western Sussex, with 23 practices, scored 995 and was followed by the 33 practices of Adur, Arun and Worthing, which averaged 993.

Sussex Downs and Weald, which has 22 practices, scored 991 while Hastings and Rother's 24 practices had an average 979 points.

Eastbourne Downs, with 23 practices, had an average 976 points.

Adur, Arun and Worthing PCT chief executive Steve Phoenix said: "The system offers incentives to GPs to continually strive to improve services."

Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the BMA GPs' committee, warned about interpretation of the figures and said a lower score did not necessarily mean the practice was lower quality.

Terry Baker, Brighton and Hove City PCT's director of primary care, welcomed the new system and said: "It will help us work with local GPs to plan and improve services in the future."