The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Devon Square Surgery

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

44 Devon Square, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 2HH (01626) 332182

Provided and run by:
Devon Square Surgery

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of Assessment: 24 February 2026 to 19 March 2026.

Devon Square Surgery is a GP practice that delivers services to approximately 9,603 people, under a contract held with NHS England. The service is based in Newton Abbot.

The National General Practice Profiles states that 97.1% of the practice population are white and 2.9% are Asian, Black, mixed or other. Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the 7th decile (7of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others. The service has a higher-than-average population of people aged 40-65 years. 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.

This assessment was due to the last assessment having been conducted in October 2015.

The service had a good learning culture and people could raise concerns. Managers investigated incidents thoroughly. People were protected and kept safe. Staff understood and managed risks. The facilities and equipment met the needs of people, were clean and well-maintained and any risks mitigated. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications, and experience. Managers made sure staff received training and regular appraisals to maintain high-quality care. Staff managed medicines well and involved people in planning any changes.

People were involved in assessments of their needs. Staff reviewed assessments taking account of people’s communication, personal and health needs. Care was based on latest evidence and good practice. Staff worked with all agencies involved in people’s care for the best outcomes and smooth transitions when moving services. Staff made sure people understood their care and treatment to enable them to give informed consent. Staff involved those important to people took decisions in people’s best interests where they did not have capacity.
People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity. They treated them as individuals and supported their preferences. People had choice in their care and treatment. The service supported staff wellbeing.


People were involved in decisions about their care. The service provided information people could understand. People knew how to give feedback and were confident the service took it seriously and acted on it. The service was easy to access and worked to eliminate discrimination. People received fair and equal care and treatment. The service worked to reduce health and care inequalities through training and feedback. People were involved in planning their care and understood options around choosing to withdraw or not receive care.


Leaders and staff had a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust. Leaders were visible, knowledgeable, and supportive, helping staff develop in their roles. Staff felt supported to give feedback and were treated equally, free from bullying or harassment. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities. Managers worked with the local community to deliver the best possible care and were receptive to new ideas. There was a culture of continuous improvement with staff given time and resources to try new ideas.
 

12 August 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Devon Square Surgery on Wednesday 12 August 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

  • There was a safe track record and 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. Medicines were well managed and the practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs
  • Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.
  • 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.
  • There were clear recruitment processes in place. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned
  • The practice was well organised and there was a clear leadership structure. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.

We saw two areas of outstanding practice for older patients and those identified as being frail:

  • The practice had been instrumental in the development of a model in Newton Abbot named ‘1 care home, 1 practice’ . The model allocated a designated GP who cared for the majority of residents in a care home which meant the GP were able to offer regular review visits and develop strong relationships with the residents, managers and staff. Care home staff said this had improved communication between the GP and care home and had given patients reassurance that they knew the GP that visited them.
  • The practice were also actively involved in the locality ‘8-8 initiative’, whereby local Newton Abbot GPs had been providing out of hours cover at nights and during the weekend for the top 2% most frail patients. The GPs had collaborated so that all the local GPs involved in this have access to the other practice’s computer records, meaning they provided a greater continuity of care and were more informed about the patients they were seeing. Anecdotal evidence was that this scheme had reduced hospital admissions. Formal data was being collated.

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

Importantly the provider should:

  • Provide evidence of a system to ensure that curtains in consulting rooms are cleaned or changed at least once every 6 months.

Please note that when referring to information throughout this report, for example any reference to the Quality and Outcomes Framework data, this relates to the most recent information available to the CQC at that time.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

10 July 2014

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

Devon Square surgery was inspected on Thursday 10 July 2014. This was a comprehensive inspection.

Devon Square Surgery provides primary medical services to patients living in Newton Abbot and the surrounding areas. The practice is in Newton Abbot. At the time of our inspection there were 8,520 patients registered at the practice.

There was a team of seven GPs meeting patients’ needs. Five GPs were partners, meaning they held managerial and financial responsibility for running the practice. In addition there were three registered nurses, and three health care assistants.

Patients who used the practice had access to community staff including district nurses, community psychiatric nurses, health visitors, physiotherapists, speech therapists, counsellors, podiatrists and midwives.

Our key findings were as follows:

Patients spoke very positively about the staff employed at the practice and the level of care they received.  Patients told us they felt that the practice is safe. They told us that care was given to them in accordance with their wishes and opportunities were given for informed decision making. Patients told us they felt the practice was responsive to their needs. For example, patients said that an urgent appointment could always be obtained on the day they contacted the practice and they could usually see their named GP for non-urgent visits or speak to a GP by telephone. This was reflective of the information provided on the practice website and within the practice welcome pack.

Patients told us about their experiences of the practice. Responses from 10 patients we spoke to on the day, from the two comment cards left for us and within the practice’s own patient survey involving 101 patients in February 2014, were very positive. Views of external stakeholders were very positive and aligned with our findings.

There was evidence that learning from incidents, significant events and investigations took place and appropriate changes are implemented to improve the practice and patient experiences.

The practice was managed well, with a clear leadership structure in operation. The staff we spoke with spoke positively about the management within the practice and told us they felt supported in their roles. Supporting information reviewed during our inspection demonstrated the practice had appropriate systems in place that regularly monitored the safety and effectiveness of the care provided.

Recruitment, pre-employment checks, induction and appraisal processes were robust. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and further training needs had been identified and planned.

Documentation about the practice demonstrated the practice performed comparatively with all other practices within the clinical commissioning group (CCG) area.

Patients felt safe in the hands of the staff and felt confident in clinical decisions made. There were effective safeguarding procedures in place.

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

The provider should:

  • Consider storing records of the audits centrally to provide a resource for students, trainees and staff at the practice.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice