Chelford Surgery

Updated 27 January 2025

This assessment was carried out on 3 and 7 March 2025. Chelford Surgery is a GP practice which provides a range of primary medical services from its location Chelford Surgery, Elmstead Road, Chelmsford, Macclesfield, SK11 9BS. The practice delivers services to approximately 4,600 patients under a contract held with NHS England. The provider is registered with the Care Quality Commission 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. The practice provided a medicines dispensary and a medicines specialist assessed this aspect of the service. A GP specialist advisor was also on the inspection team and they assessed the clinical care and treatment provided for a sample of patients.

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

The National General Practice Profiles state that the practice has a higher than average older patient population. Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the 9th decile (9 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others.

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 and dispensing. 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. Patient feedback was very positive in all aspects of the service. Patients described an ‘excellent’, ‘caring’ and ‘receptive’ service and this was supported by the feedback provided by members of the Patient Participation Group (PPG). The system for booking appointments was very responsive to people’s needs and patient satisfaction with being able to readily access the service was very high. 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 27 January 2025

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 highly positive. The results of the National GP Patient Survey were 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, showed people were positive about their experience of the service.

There was an active Patient Participation Group (PPG) who represented the views of people using the service. Representatives from the PPG told us that the provider listened and made changes in response to their feedback and they were highly satisfied with the service provided. People who used the service were invited to provide feedback directly to CQC. All responses we received were highly positive and included comments that indicated that people felt listened to, they had been provided clear information to make an informed decision about their care and treatment. Staff were described as;‘extremely effective’, ‘very professional’, ‘helpful’, ‘kind’ and ‘compassionate’.

Complaints were fully investigated and any learning was used to drive improvement.