The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

The Croft Surgery

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Kirkbride, Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 5JH (016973) 51207

Provided and run by:
The Croft Surgery

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

We carried out a review of the data available to us about The Croft Surgery on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.

This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.

If you have concerns about The Croft Surgery, you can give feedback on this service.

7 november

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out a targeted assessment of the Croft Surgery in relation to the responsive key question. This assessment was carried out on 7 November 2023 without a site visit. Overall, the practice is rated as Good. We rated the key question of responsive as Good.

Safe - Good

Effective – Good

Caring - Good

Responsive – Good

Well-led – Good

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for the Croft Surgery on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

This inspection was a targeted assessment of the key question of responsive.

How we carried out the inspection

This inspection was carried remotely.

This included:

  • Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
  • Requesting evidence from the provider.

Our findings

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 found that:

  • Patients were satisfied with the access to appointments offered by the practice. This was reflected in the National GP survey.
  • The practice understood the needs of its local population.
  • The practice had an active and effective Patient Participation Group.
  • The practice dealt with complaints in a timely manner and learned from them.

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

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services

25 Jan 2019

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Croft Surgery on 25 January 2019 as part of our inspection programme. (Previous rating November 2015 – Good)

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 and good for all population groups.

We found that:

  • The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
  • 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.
  • 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 an area of outstanding practice:

  • Each year the practice chose a different condition to screen for and raise awareness of at their flu clinics. In 2018 they chose atrial fibrillation (AF, an irregular heart rhythm which, if left untreated, can lead to stroke), screening all patients over the age of 65 who attended the flu clinics and finding 13 patients who showed signs of AF. These were all invited to the surgery for appropriate follow up treatment and referral.

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

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

24 November 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Croft Surgery on 24 November 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good with the domain of caring rated as outstanding.

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. The practice had clear evidence of the learning opportunities taken as a result of the monitoring of 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.
  • Staff were encouraged to keep up to date and to take training opportunities whenever they came along.
  • Patients said they found it easy to get through to the practice on the telephone, and felt they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect by all staff.
  • There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt well supported by the management team and GP’s.
  • The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.
  • The whole practice team worked together to provide a responsive service that put caring and patient safety at its heart.
  • The practice had a multi-skilled workforce with all staff being able to support each other in different roles as and when needed.
  • People were truly respected and valued as individuals and were empowered as partners in their care.

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

  • A practice Patient Participation Group (PPG) had been in place since 2006 and had managed to attract a wide age range of members including working age and a teenage member. It was seen as a vital part of the way the practice worked with the PPG secretary / lead acting as a representative on the Allerdale Locality CCG. The PPG had attended the local school to talk about access to the service for the teenagers at the practice.
  • The practice had achieved consistently high rates of patient satisfaction through the GP patient survey, the friends and family test and the CQC comment card uptake.
  • The practice ran its winter flu vaccination sessions at three different venues across the practice boundaries. The PPG put on a coffee morning at these sessions to encourage the uptake of flu vaccinations. The local carers association had also attended to help identify and support carers and as a result of this were now providing monthly support sessions within the practice.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

6 May 2014

During a routine inspection

The Croft Surgery was a GP practice located in Kirkbride, Wigton. It served a rural community and was a dispensing practice. The practice registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 1 April 2013 to provide the following regulates activities:-

Diagnostic and screening procedures; Family planning; Maternity and midwifery services; Surgical procedures; and, Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

We spoke with a member of the Patient Participation Group (PPG) on the telephone prior to the day of the inspection visit. We also spoke with two patient trustees of the patient fund on the day of the inspection visit, and an additional four patients attending the surgery for appointments. The patients we spoke with were very complimentary about the service and we received excellent feedback from the comment cards which were left for patients to complete during our inspection.  

We found managers and partner GPs had fostered an open and learning culture across the practice. The practice invested time supporting, training and ensuring the care provided was not just good, but consistent, enduring and safe.