- GP practice
Waterbeach Surgery
Assessment report published 25 August 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Waterbeach Surgery is a GP practice delivering services to approximately 9649 patients under a contract held with NHS England. The practice is situated within the Central East Integrated Care Board (ICB).
Information published by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the 9th decile (9 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others.
According to the latest available data, the ethnic make-up of the practice area is 89% White, 5% Asian, 1% Black, 3% Mixed and 1% Other. There are more younger people and fewer older people in the practice population than the local and national averages.
This assessment considered the demographics of the people using the service, the context the service was working and how this impacted service delivery. Where relevant, further commentary is provided in the quality statements section of this report.
This is the first assessment of Waterbeach Surgery since its registration in 2023 and since the merger of Cottenham Surgery in 2024. Both sites operate under a single management structure and share resources, staff and services to ensure the needs of the local population are met at each site.
We carried out an announced comprehensive assessment of 34 quality statements, under the safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led key questions. We conducted a remote clinical assessment on 5 June 2026, and a site visit was carried out on 9 June 2026. This assessment was led by a CQC inspector who was supported by a CQC GP Specialist Adviser and 2 CQC inspectors. We also requested some information from the practice which we reviewed remotely as part of this assessment.
People's experience of this service
As part of our assessment, we reviewed feedback from people who used the service to understand their views and experience. This included speaking with people using the service at the time of our assessment and reviewing other feedback available to us. People were positive about the quality of their care and treatment. They described how staff treated them with kindness and compassion and respected their privacy. This was mirrored in feedback from the patient participation group (PPG) and local care home representatives.
There was an active PPG who represented the views of people using the service. Representatives from the PPG described practice leaders as loyal, dedicated and caring. Results from the National GP Patient Survey (2025) consisting of 118 responses, showed that 87% of respondents stated that during their last appointment, the healthcare professional was very good or fairly good at treating them with care and concern. This is above the expected average of 86%.
In addition, 93% of respondents stated that during their last appointment they had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to. This was in line with the expected average. The practice actively collected patient feedback and provided a range of opportunities for patients to share their views and experiences.