The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

The Whitswood Practice Also known as Alexandra Range Medical Practice

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Alexandra Park Health Centre, 2 Whitswood Close, Manchester, Lancashire, M16 7AP (0161) 226 3620

Provided and run by:
Better Health MCR Ltd

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of Assessment: Wednesday 17 June 2026. The Whitswood Practice is a GP practice and delivers services to approximately 5,285 people under a contract held with NHS England. According to the latest available data, the ethnic make-up of the service area is approximately 28.9% White, 33.4% Black, 19.5% Asian, 7.1% mixed and 11.1% other. Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows deprivation within the service population group is in the 1st decile (1 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.

10 November 2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Whitswood Practice on 10 November 2016. 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 an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
  • Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
  • Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
  • The practice had good policies for the recruitment of staff.
  • 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 found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • 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 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.

We saw the following areas of outstanding practice:

  • The Quality Improvement Programme Manager who had created “QOF packs” for GPs. The pack was designed to give GPs better oversight over their administration role and allow better time management. Each GP was given a list of their patients who were missing clinical targets that made up the QOF. The GPs were instructed to review each patient’s record and decide on the best way forward and the Quality Improvement Programme Manager followed up all the actions on a monthly basis.
  • A privacy slip was available at the reception for patients to complete discretely and present to the reception staff if they did not want to speak to the reception staff.

There was one area were the practice should make improvement:

  • Consideration should be given to the improvement of activity undertaken to identify and register carers.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice