The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Fleet Medical Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Church Road,, Fleet, Hampshire, GU51 4PE (01252) 613327

Provided and run by:
Hart Health Partnership

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of Assessment: 23 September 2026. Fleet Medical Centre is a GP practice and delivers services to approximately 27,850 patients under a contract held with NHS England. There is also a branch surgery Branksomewood Healthcare Centre. According to the latest available data, the ethnic make-up of the practice area is approximately 91% White, 4.5% Asian, 1% Mixed, 2.5% Black and 1% Other. Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows deprivation within the practice population group is in the 10 decile (10 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice 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 12 quality statements from across all 5 key questions. This assessment considered the demographics of the patients using the practice, the context the practice 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 patients 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 prescribed, stored and administered medicines well.

Staff supported patients to live healthier lives, monitoring their care and treatment to ensure they received positive and consistent outcomes. Staff followed the latest evidence and good practice when providing care and treatment.

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

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

The practice had a clear vision and strategy, which considered the needs of the patients who used their practice 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.

13 December 2018

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Fleet Medical Centre on 13 December 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

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 have rated this practice as Good overall.

We found that:

  • The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm but infection prevention and control measures were not fully embedded.
  • Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
  • Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
  • Patient areas of the practice had been recently refurbished to be in line with the practice’s Dementia Friendly accreditation status.
  • Duty of Candour was evidenced by the practice in response to complaints and significant events.
  • The practice completed clinical audits to drive improvement for better patient outcomes.
  • The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
  • The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.

We saw one area of outstanding practice including:

  • The practice had implemented a ‘Code 300’ protocol in order for patients experiencing a crisis with their condition and medical care could access a GP without an initial triage or delay in waiting for a clinician to call them back. We were told this was intended for short-term use by patients receiving palliative care or for those experiencing a mental health crisis. Patients would be advised to identify themselves as a ‘Code 300’ upon contacting the practice and receptionists would find the next available clinician to review without further triaging or questions being asked.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

  • Improve the identification of carers to enable this group of patients to access the care and support they need.
  • Continue to act upon the findings of infection prevention and control audit to enable full compliance with local guidelines.
  • Continue to improve the uptake for cervical screening to achieve the national target of 80%.
  • Review how the practice uses the patient participation group to maintain a patient feedback resource.
  • Review how the practice maintains full oversight of staff training and records of completion.

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

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGPChief Inspector of General Practice

17/07/2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced focused inspection of Fleet Medical Centre, Church Road, Fleet, Hampshire, GU51 4PE on 17 July 2015.

Our previous inspection in October 2014 found breaches of regulations relating to the safe delivery of services.

We found the practice required improvement for the provision of safe services, and was rated good for providing effective, caring, responsive and well-led services.

This inspection was carried out to check the practice was meeting regulations. For this reason we have only rated the location for the key question to which this relates.

This report should be read in conjunction with the full inspection report of 2 October 2014.

We found the practice had made improvements since our last inspection in October 2014. At our inspection on the 17 July 2015 we found the practice was meeting the regulations that had previously been breached.

Specifically the practice was:

  • Operating safe systems of recruitment by ensuing recruitment arrangements included all the necessary employment checks for all staff.
  • Operating procedures to ensure the management of equipment used to administer emergency medicines was available and fit for purpose.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)

Chief Inspector of General Practice

2 October 2014

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of this service on 2nd October 2014.

We have rated the practice as good overall.

The practice delivered effective care and treatment to its patients. There was a clear vision and strategy which outlined planning objectives for the sustainability of the service in the future. Staff took an active role in the planning and delivery of the service. We saw a clear and simple management structure in place and monitored which supported the service to run smoothly.

Our key findings were as follows:

  • The practice was clean, well maintained and there were systems in place to maintain appropriate standards of cleanliness and hygiene.
  • Patient’s access requirements were taken into account when services were planned and delivered. These included availability of appointments outside working hours and physical access for disabled patients. 
  • Patients rated the practice above the regional average for ability to get an appointment to see or speak to someone, their confidence with nursing staff and being given enough time for their nurse appointments.
  • GPs and nurses received appropriate training and professional development supervision and training.
  • The practice regularly assessed and monitored the quality of its services and actions were taken to improve when necessary.

However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements. 

Importantly, the provider must:

  • Ensure that relevant checks are carried out for staff prior to employment.
  • Ensure medical emergency equipment is available and fit for purpose (within use by date).

In addition the provider should:

  • Ensure relevant staff know what action to take in the event of a potential failure in the cold chain in relation to the safe storage of medicines (for example, a fridge breakdown).  

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice