Bellingham Practice Also known as The Bellingham Practice

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

We looked for evidence the service met people’s needs, and staff treated people equally and without discrimination. This was a focused assessment, which meant we did not assess all quality statements. Our rating is determined from the findings of both this assessment and our previous assessment. At our last assessment, we rated this key question as outstanding, and this remains unchanged due to the focused nature of this assessment. However, updated quality statement scores have been issued where relevant.

This service scored 93 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We did not look at Person-centred Care during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Care provision, Integration and continuity during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Providing Information during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Listening to and involving people during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

The service made sure people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

The service performed better than the national average in the results of the 2026 National GP Patient Survey (GPPS). This showed people could access the service when they needed it in a way that suited their needs, such as by telephone, in person or through the service’s website. For example, 95% of respondents to the survey described their overall experience of contacting this service as being good, compared to a national average of 73%. In addition, 94% of respondents said they found it easy to contact the practice by phone, compared with a national average of 57%, and 79% said it was easy to use the practice website, compared with a national average of 58%. Information provided by the Integrated Care Board (ICB) showed the practice was 1 of 15 practices in Northumberland within the top 10% of practices nationally for the GPPS question about overall experience of the practice.

The service provided support to help people access and use digital services, including online access to records and the NHS App. Staff encouraged people to contact the practice if they required assistance with accessing or navigating these services. Treatment rooms were available on the ground floor, and an automatic door had been fitted at the entrance to help ensure the service was accessible to people with mobility needs.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who were most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes. They tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

Staff treated people equally and without discrimination. Staff understood the importance of providing an inclusive approach to care and made adjustments to support equity in people’s experience and outcomes. For example, work had been undertaken to implement reasonable adjustments for patients with additional needs. We saw environmental adjustments had been made to suit individual needs, which helped to create calmer environments.

Staff followed processes to ensure people could register at the service, including those in vulnerable circumstances such as homeless people and Travellers. Staff used systems to capture and review feedback from people who used the service. The practice was also accredited as an Armed Forces Veteran Friendly practice, demonstrating its commitment to meeting the needs of military veterans.

We did not look at Planning for the future during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.