Harrow's out-of-hours GP service has passed a national quality audit with "flying colours".

The service which is run by independent health and social care provider, Care UK, on behalf of the NHS was inspected by Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of all health and social care services in England.

The CQC inspector passed the centre on all five core issues including the safety and effectiveness of its service as well as its caring, responsive nature to people's needs. No areas for improvement were identified.

In a report, the CQC inspector said: "We found there were effective systems in place to ensure the service could be delivered to the widest range of patients with varying levels of need.

"People we spoke with said staff displayed a kind and caring attitude and we observed patients being treated with respect and kindness whilst their dignity and confidentiality was maintained."

The Care UK service provides GP out-of-hours cover for 1.4 million patients across Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Ealing and Brent.

Faye Justice, Care UK service manager for the west and north-west service, said: "We are very pleased to have passed this important inspection and we are particularly delighted with the positive comments from the inspector.

"The inspector's conclusions are testimony to the dedicated work of the entire team within the local out-of-hours service."