• Doctor
  • GP practice

Ince Surgery

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Clare House, Phoenix Way, Ince, Wigan, Lancashire, WN3 4NW (01942) 483510

Provided and run by:
SSP Health GPMS Ltd

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of Assessment: 17 September 2026. Ince Surgery is a GP practice and delivers services to approximately 8238 people under a contract held with NHS England. It has a branch site, Higher Ince Surgery, which we also visited. This report refers to both sites. The provider is SSP Health GPMS Ltd which runs a number of other practices too. According to the latest available data, the ethnic make-up of the service area is approximately 94.1% White, 1.7% Asian, 1.4% Mixed, 1.7% Black and 1.1% Other. Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows deprivation within the service population group is in the 2nd decile (2 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the service population is relative to others.

This was a focused assessment. We undertook this assessment due to the length of time since our last assessment. We assessed 10 quality statements from across all 5 key questions. 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.

Staff kept facilities clean and maintained equipment appropriately to ensure people were kept safe. They assessed and managed the risk of infection well and took steps to control the risk of it spreading. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience.

Staff supported people to live healthier lives, monitoring their care and treatment to ensure they received positive and consistent outcomes.

Staff treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion, and respected their privacy and dignity.

People could access care, treatment and support when they needed it. Leaders and staff were alert to discrimination and inequality that could disadvantage groups of people who used the service and sought ways to address any barriers.

The service had a clear vision and strategy, which considered the needs of the people who used their service and the wider community. Staff understood their individual roles and responsibilities. Leaders accounted for the actions, behaviours and performance of staff through clear and effective governance processes.

31 July 2017

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Lower Ince Surgery on 31 July 2017. Overall, the practice is rated as good.

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

  • There was an open and transparent approach to safety and a system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
  • The practice had clearly defined and embedded systems to minimise risks to patient safety.
  • Staff were aware of current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills and knowledge to deliver effective care and treatment.
  • Results from the most recent national GP patient survey showed patients were mostly satisfied with the surgery and felt involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
  • Patients we spoke with said they were able to make an appointment with a named GP if required and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
  • 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 proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted upon. Staff were able to work flexibly and across different SSP locations.
  • The provider was aware of the requirements of the duty of candour. Examples we reviewed showed the practice complied with these requirements.
  • The practice had a proactive patient participation group (PPG).

We saw an area of outstanding practice :

The practice had a successful Hypnotic Reduction Programme of patients on Benzodiazepine Medicines. (Benzodiazepines are a group of medicines sometimes used in patients with anxiety, sleeping problems and other mental health disorders).  Before SSP Health were awarded the contract, Lower Ince Surgery was the highest prescriber of this medicine in the country. The improvement had been achieved through an in-house reduction programme devised by the provider in agreement with patients who fitted the criteria.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice