Ashton Gardens Surgery

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

We looked for evidence that the service met people’s needs, and that staff treated people equally and without discrimination.

This is the first inspection for this service since its registration with CQC. This key question has been rated as good

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs. Feedback from the 2025 National GP Patient Survey showed that 87% of patients felt they were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment.

Care plans reflected physical, mental, emotional, and social needs of patients including those related to protected characteristics under the Equality Act. Our review of clinical records showed patients were supported to understand their condition and were involved in planning for their care needs.

The service understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

We saw the practice worked in partnership with other services to meet the needs of its patient population. The practice had tailored its services to meet the diverse needs of its community, for example, building relationships with community groups to promote the take up of screening programmes. There were established mechanisms for engaging with the community healthcare provider.

The service supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

Information to promote the take up of screening and immunisation programmes was available in a range of languages. The practice had access to interpreter services, including British Sign Language, and benefitted from a diverse team who spoke different languages. Information provided by the service met the Accessible Information Standard. Patients were informed as to how to access their care records. Feedback from the 2025 National GP Patient Survey showed that 86% of patients felt the healthcare professional they saw had all the information they needed about them during their last appointment.

The service made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. They involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

We reviewed the service’s complaints in the last 12 months and saw complaints were being recorded and responded to appropriately. From our examination of meeting minutes and conversations held with staff members, we saw learning from complaints was evident and staff were able to identify changes made because of patient feedback. However, the practices’ complaints policy did not include information relating to escalating complaints to the Parliamentary Health Ombudsman (PHSO), although each complaint response referred the PHSO. The service updated the policy to include reference to the PHSO after the assessment.

The service made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

Results from the 2025 National GP Patient Survey showed that 59% of respondents found it easy to get through to the GP practice by phone, compared to the 53% national results and 51% local results. Sixty one percent of respondents found it easy to contact the GP through their website and 57% found it easy to contact the GP using the NHS App. The practice shared data with us showing improvement in patient access. For example, General Practice Appointment Data showed that between November and December 2025 the practice offered the second highest number of appointments per patient in the borough, providing 518 appointments per 1,000 registered patients. Leaders had implemented General Practice Improvement Programme, which included changing the practices’ telephony system. Performance data demonstrated sustained improvement following the change. The average call queue time reduced from 7 minutes and 25 seconds in December 2023 to 2 minutes and 36 seconds in December 2025, with a higher percentage of calls successfully answered.

People could access the service to suit their needs for example online, in person and by telephone. Treatment rooms were available on the ground floor and a ramp and automatic door had been fitted to the entrance.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

Staff treated people equally and without discrimination. Leaders proactively sought ways to address any barriers to improving people’s experience and worked with local organisations to address any local health inequalities. Staff understood the importance of providing an inclusive approach to care and made adjustments to support equity in people’s experience and outcomes, and the practice were, at the time of the assessment, training to be accredited as a Pride in practice service. The provider had processes to ensure people could register at the practice, including those in vulnerable circumstances such as homeless people and Travellers. Staff used appropriate systems to capture and review feedback from people using the service, including those who did not speak English or have access to the internet.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life. Staff reviewed patients on their palliative care register routinely.

Our records review showed people were supported to consider their wishes for their end-of-life care, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This information was shared with other services when necessary.