Fountains Medical Practice

Updated 22 January 2026

This assessment was carried out on 20 and 24 March 2026. Fountains Medical Practice is a GP practice which provides a range of primary medical services from its location, Fountains Health, Delamere Street, Chester, CH1 4DS. The practice delivers services to approximately 4,380 patients under a contract held with NHS England. The provider is registered with CQC to provide the following regulated activities; diagnostic and screening procedures, maternity and midwifery services, family planning, surgical procedures and treatment of disease, disorder or injury. A GP specialist advisor was included on the inspection team and they assessed the clinical care and treatment provided for a sample of patients.

We assessed all 5 key questions to establish if the services provided were safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. We rated all key questions as good and the service is rated good overall.

Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the 7th decile (7 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others. The latest available data with regards to ethnicity of people in the local area showed this was 93% White, 2% Mixed, 3.5% Asian and 1% Black. This assessment considered the demographics of the people using the service, the context the service was working within and how this impacted service delivery.

The service had a good learning culture. The premises were clean and well-maintained, and risks had been assessed and mitigated. There were sufficient numbers of staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Staff managed medicines well in relation to prescribing. Care and treatment was provided in line with best practice guidance. People who used the service were treated with kindness and compassion and staff protected their privacy and dignity. Feedback from people who used the service was positive overall. The system for booking appointments was responsive to people’s needs and patient satisfaction with being able to readily access the service was good. Leaders were visible, knowledgeable and supportive, helping staff develop in their roles. Leaders and staff had a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and continuous improvement.

Updated 22 January 2026

The provider encouraged and used feedback from people who used the service to make improvements. Feedback we reviewed showed that patient experience of the service was positive overall. The results of the National GP Patient Survey showed the practice received similar to, or higher than local and national average scores for patient satisfaction. The results showed that patients felt positive about their overall experience of the service; patients felt listened to, treated with care and concern, involved in decisions about their care and treatment, and had confidence and trust in the healthcare professionals. Recent results from the NHS Friends and Family Test also showed that people were positive about their experience of the service. People who used the service were invited to provide feedback directly to CQC. Responses we received were positive overall. People told us they could access appointments easily and they were complimentary about staff in all roles.