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Practices in England averaged 968 out of 1,000 available points. This is an improvement of 13.5 points on the 2006/7 score of 954.5.

The average number of points achieved across practices in each of the 152 PCTs ranged from 891.1 points to 991.7 points.

A total of 7.5 per cent of practices achieved the maximum 1,000 points, up from 5.1 per cent in 2006/7. Practices in Scotland averaged 982.2 points for 2007/8, an improvement of 11 points on the previous year.

Last month, 2007/8 QOF scores for Northern Ireland were published, showing that the average practice score was 987, up on last year's average of 978. Data for Wales are not yet available.

The biggest increase in disease prevalence was in the chronic kidney disease domain, which rose 50 per cent to 2.7 per cent in Scotland, and by 21 per cent in England to 2.9 per cent. Clinical care UK-wide improved fastest for depression. Average scores in England rose from 80.8 per cent in 2006/7 to 90.6 per cent in 2007/8.

Scottish practices achieved 94.9 per cent of the 33 points awarded for depression in 2007/8 compared with 84.8 per cent in 2006/7, while in Northern Ireland scores were up from 88 per cent to 95.4 per cent.

RCN Practice Nurse Association chair Kate Howie said: 'Increasing QOF scores show the amount of work that practices are doing.'

She said that rising depression scores reflected better detection of the condition among patients with chronic conditions including heart disease and diabetes.

But she urged more practices to reward nurses for their efforts by paying bonuses and awarding pay rises.

• NHS Information Centre

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