The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Gainford Surgery Also known as Gainford Surgery

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Main Road, Gainford, Darlington, County Durham, DL2 3BE (01325) 730204

Provided and run by:
Gainford Surgery

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of Assessment: 14 August 2026. Gainford Surgery is a GP practice and delivers services to approximately 3,700 people under a contract held with NHS England. According to the latest available data, the ethnic make-up of the service area is approximately 98.1% White, 0.7% Asian, 0.3% Mixed, 0.8% Black and 0.1% Other. Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows deprivation within the service population group is in the 7th decile (7 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 provider 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.

28 June 2018

During a routine inspection

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection October 2015 – Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Outstanding

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr M J Neville & Dr I G Waldin

on 28 June 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

  • The practice had systems to keep patients safe and safeguarded from abuse.
  • The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
  • Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
  • Results from the National GP Patient Survey rated the practice higher than others for all aspects of care. The practice was in the top 1.43% of practices nationally to score highly in the survey.
  • The practice scored higher than the local clinical commissioning group (CCG) average in every question in the National GP Patient Survey.
  • Feedback from patients was consistently and strongly positive.
  • The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. They took account of patient needs and preferences.
  • Access to appointments was good.
  • There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation. The practice proactively used performance information to drive improvement.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

  • Review processes around the undertaking and recording of annual medicines review.
  • Adhere to their medicines policy in relation to the stock-checking of Controlled Drugs.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

21 October 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr M J Neville & Dr I G Waldin on 21 October 2015 Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

  • Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
  • Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
  • Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
  • 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.
  • Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that 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 on.
  • The practice provided combined clinics and one stop services for patients
  • A wrap around service for vulnerable adults identified people at risk and provided nurse led home visits

We saw two areas of outstanding practice:

  • The patient participation group had been in place for fourteen years, they actively sought patient opinion and were involved in decisions made about the practice. The membership of the group was diverse and had representatives on other local community groups and forums in Durham Dales that benefited patients and the practice. They communicated their discussions and actions through the practice website and via a dedicated noticeboard in the waiting room.

  • The practice were involved in a local Vulnerable Adult Wrap Around Service (VAWAS) which identified people at risk, provided nurse led home visits to assess their health and risks then worked with local practices and other services to ensure their needs were met.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice