The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

The Meads Medical Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Bell Farm Road, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 1BA (01825) 766055

Provided and run by:
The Meads Medical Centre

Important: This service was previously registered at a different address - see old profile

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of Assessment: 15-19 August 2025. The Meads Medical Centre is a GP practice delivering services to around 9800 people under a contract held with NHS England. We carried out this assessment to follow-up on a previous breach of regulation and focused this assessment on 2 key questions: Is the service safe? and Is the service responsive?

The National General Practice Profiles show that the age/sex profile of the practice population is similar to that of Sussex generally with a higher proportion of people aged over 65 than the national average and a lower proportion of younger adults. Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that the practice population is relatively affluent. Deprivation in the practice population group is in the 9th decile (9 of 10). The higher the decile, the less deprived the practice population is relative to others. The majority of the practice population is white (96%). This assessment considered the demographics of the people using the service, the context the service was working within and how this impacted service delivery. Where relevant, further commentary is provided in the quality statements section of this report.

We found that the service was safe. There was a positive learning culture and managers investigated incidents and complaints thoroughly. Staff understood their responsibilities to manage risks and safeguard people from harm. The facilities and equipment were clean and well-maintained and infection control protocols were in place and being followed. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications, training and experience, and patients were directed to the appropriate professional to meet their needs.

We found that the service had reviewed and improved its management of medicines since our previous inspection. At this assessment, we found that the service had improved. There were now effective systems in place to implement medicines safety alerts; to manage people who were prescribed medicines requiring ongoing monitoring and to ensure that non-prescribing staff were correctly authorised to administer medicines as appropriate to their role. The service had also improved the way in which it monitored people’s use of medicines (for example, medicines with a risk of dependency).

We found that the service was responsive. People were involved in decisions about their care and the service provided clear information. The service encouraged people to give feedback and acted on it. We found that access to the service had improved since our previous inspection and the leaders were exploring ways to improve this further. The service was committed to ensuring that people received fair care and treatment and took action to reduce barriers to access and meet the needs of people in more vulnerable circumstances.

Since the last inspection, the service had made improvements and is no longer in breach of regulation 12: safe care and treatment.

30 November 2023 and 11 December 2023

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive at The Meads Medical Centre between 30 November 2023 and 11 December 2023. Overall, the practice is rated as requires improvement.

Safe - requires improvement.

Effective – good.

Caring – good.

Responsive – requires improvement.

Well-led – good.

Following our inspection, the practice demonstrated they took immediate action in response to our findings. They sent us evidence to provide assurances that they took all of our concerns seriously and were making the necessary improvements. These had only recently been implemented so there is not yet verified evidence to show they were working. As such, the ratings for providing safe and responsive services have not been impacted. However, we will continue to monitor the data and where we see potential changes, we will follow these up with the practice.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Meads Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

We carried out this inspection in line our with our inspection priorities and to follow up on information of concern.

Outline focus of inspection to include:

  • All key questions; safe, effective, responsive and well-led.
  • Information of concern relating to; medicines management, governance arrangements and culture.

How we carried out the inspection

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site.

This included:

  • Conducting staff interviews on site and using video conferencing.
  • Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system (this was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements).
  • Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider.
  • Requesting evidence from the provider.
  • A staff questionnaire.
  • A short site visit.

Our findings

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

  • what we found when we inspected
  • information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We found that:

  • There were appropriate safety systems and processes, including for safeguarding, recruitment, and health and safety.
  • Appropriate standards of cleanliness and hygiene were met.
  • Staff had the information they needed to deliver safe care and treatment.
  • Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
  • The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.
  • The practice responded to patient needs.
  • Staff told us they were happy with the level of support and communication provided by their management team.
  • The practice encouraged staff development and gave staff the opportunities to further their career.
  • Governance systems and processes were being reviewed and improved following a staff re-structure. Staff feedback was positive about the recent changes.

However, we also found:

  • There were concerns around the monitoring and prescribing of some medicines.
  • Staff did not always have the appropriate authorisations to administer medicines (including Patient Group Directions or Patient Specific Directions).
  • The GP patient survey showed patients were not satisfied with access to appointments at the practice.
  • The practice did not always have systems and processes to respond to safety alerts and ensure affected patients had been followed up.

We found a breach of regulations. The provider must:

  • Ensure that care and treatment is provided in a safe way.

Additionally, the provider should:

  • Take action to ensure discussions about safeguarding are consistently recorded, and any necessary actions are monitored and completed.
  • Improve the uptake of cervical screening.
  • Continue to improve patient access to appointments.
  • Continue to review and improve oversight for the arrangements for identifying, managing and mitigating risks.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Health Care

13 July 2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Meads Medical Centre on 3 December 2015. The practice was rated as requires improvement overall, inadequate in safe and requires improvement in effective, caring, responsive and well-led. We undertook a second comprehensive inspection on 13 July 2016. The practice had made significant improvements and was rated as good overall and in safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

  • The practice had made improvements to their governance systems since their December 2015 inspection. For example, risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
  • There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
  • Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment. The practice continued to make improvements in relation to staff training and associated records.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Improvements had been made to recruitment processes and appropriate employment checks including Disclosure and Barring (DBS) checks had been undertaken.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
  • Patients said they did not always find it easy to make an appointment with a named GP or to get through to the practice by phone. However the practice had taken steps to address this by releasing additional GP appointments and ensuring more staff were available to answer the phone during busy times.
  • The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
  • Improvements had been made to fire safety procedures and fire drills had been incorporated into the management of risk in this area.
  • There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
  • The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.
  • All staff were trained at the appropriate level in safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

  • To ensure that a report is compiled following regular fire drills identifying areas of good practice and areas where improvements are required.
  • To continue to address patient concerns with access to GP appointments and ensure improvements are ongoing and sustainable.
  • To continue to ensure that training records are maintained for all staff, including nursing staff attending infection control training updates.


Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

3 December 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of The Meads Medical Centre on 3 December 2015. Overall the practice is rated as requires improvement.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

  • There was a lack of formal governance arrangements. Risks to patients and staff were not always identified, assessed and well managed.
  • The practice had begun to make some improvements to their overarching governance framework which would support the delivery of good quality care.
  • There was an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
  • Appropriate recruitment checks on key staff had not been undertaken prior to their employment.
  • Staff felt well supported but had not always received training appropriate to their roles. Further training needs had not always been identified and planned. Some staff had not received an induction or regular appraisal of their performance.
  • Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance.
  • Patient feedback showed that patients did not always feel satisfied with how they could access care and treatment.
  • Patients reported that access to a named GP and continuity of care was not always available quickly, although urgent appointments were usually available the same day with a paramedic practitioner.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
  • The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
  • There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management.
  • The practice had sought some feedback from staff and patients, which it had acted on. However patient feedback via the national GP patient survey rated the practice considerably lower than others in several areas.
  • The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

  • Ensure all necessary and relevant checks are undertaken for all staff prior to employment.
  • Ensure criminal records checks via the Disclosure and Barring Service are undertaken for all staff who are assessed as requiring a check, such as staff who act as chaperones.
  • Ensure there are formal governance arrangements in place, including systems for assessing and monitoring risks and the quality of the service provision.
  • Ensure that all patient identifiable information is held securely within the practice.
  • Ensure rehearsals of fire evacuation procedures are undertaken.
  • Ensure staff undertake training to enable them to undertake their role, including training in basic life support, the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults, health and safety, fire safety, chaperoning, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and infection control.
  • Ensure that staff undertaking home visits to patients receive appropriate support and training.
  • Ensure all staff to receive induction, regular supervision and appraisal.
  • Ensure the hepatitis B status of all appropriate staff is established and that staff receive booster immunisations where required.
  • Ensure staff have access to all required policies and procedures to support their role.
  • Ensure improvements are made to patient access to the practice by telephone, their experience of making an appointment and waiting to be seen after their appointment time.

The provider should:

  • Implement processes to establish a register of patients prescribed disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in order to ensure their regular and ongoing review.
  • Ensure cleaning schedules are agreed with external cleaning contractors.
  • Provide written information within the practice to signpost carers to voluntary and support organisations.
  • Continue to review patient feedback, particularly from the national GP survey in order to ensure continuous improvement relating to how patients felt they were treated by GPs and nurses and receptionists.
  • Ensure clinical audits are used to promote continuous improvement and improve patient outcomes.

On the basis of some of the concerns identified at this inspection we are taking enforcement action. Where a practice is rated as inadequate for one of the five key questions or one of the six population groups it will be re-inspected within six months after the report is published. If, after re-inspection, it has failed to make sufficient improvement, and is still rated as inadequate for any key question or population group, we will place it into special measures. Being placed into special measures represents a decision by CQC that a practice has to improve within six months to avoid CQC taking steps to cancel the provider’s registration.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice