Valley Road Surgery

On this page

• Overview
• Learning culture
• Safe systems, pathways and transitions
• Safeguarding
• Involving people to manage risks
• Safe environments
• Safe and effective staffing
• Infection prevention and control
• Medicines optimisation

We looked for evidence that people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm.
At our last assessment, we rated this key question as Good. At this assessment, the rating remains the same.
 

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. They listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice.
People felt supported to raise concerns and felt staff treated them with compassion and understanding. Representatives from the Patient Participation Group (PPG) felt the provider ensure staff had reviewed significant events and any associated learning. During staff meetings, the whole team discussed and learnt from clinical issues. Staff felt there was an open culture, and that safety was a top priority. The provider had processes for staff to report incidents, near misses and safety events. There was a system to record and investigate complaints, and when things went wrong, staff apologised and gave people support. Learning from incidents and complaints resulted in changes that improved care for others.
The practice had received 5 complaints in the last 12 months; they reviewed them all during an all-took concerns seriously and proactively made improvements to the service. Managers encouraged staff to raise concerns when things went wrong. All staff including non-clinical were made aware of significant events. There were processes to
staff meeting. In response to the complaints and to improve patient engagement the practice arranged for reception staff to attend communication and confidentiality training for both new and existing staff.
 

The service worked with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care, in which safety was managed or monitored. They made sure there was continuity of care, including when people moved between different services.
There were systems in place for processing information relating to new patients. The service worked with other providers to deliver shared care and when patients moved between services. Referrals and test results were managed in a timely way.
 

The service worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way to achieve that. They concentrated on improving people’s lives while protecting their right to live in safety, free from bullying, harassment, abuse, discrimination, avoidable harm and neglect. The service shared concerns quickly and appropriately.
Safeguarding policies were in place and known to staff, who were appropriately trained in safeguarding procedures. The practice maintained a list of vulnerable people and acted on concerns working in partnership with other organisations.
We saw a combined adult and child safeguarding policy that had been reviewed in March 2026. Staff were aware who the safeguarding lead was. The practice had oversight of a list of vulnerable people that was reviewed regularly. We reviewed 5 staff training files and a staff training matrix and saw that all staff had completed appropriate levels of safeguarding training.
 

The service worked with people to understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. They provided care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them.
Emergency equipment was available and maintained. Equipment and medicines were stored in a central place which was accessible to all staff. Staff we spoke with were aware of what to do in an emergency. All staff were trained in basic life support.
Staff could recognise a deteriorating patient and knew of action to take. Patients were advised on risks related to their condition and actions to take if their condition deteriorated.
 

The service detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. The practice manager had oversight of contracts and maintenance for equipment.
Contracts were in place to ensure the premises were maintained. Health and safety risk assessments and audits had been undertaken and risks identified had been addressed. There was a business continuity plan in place which was monitored and reviewed. We saw the practice had undertaken portable appliance and calibration of equipment testing.
Fire alarm tests were carried out weekly and fire extinguisher checks were carried out annually. A health and safety risk assessment had been carried out in May 2026, and we saw actions had been completed.
 

The service made sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who received effective support, supervision and development. They worked together well to provide safe care that met people’s individual needs.
There were a range of clinical and non-clinical roles within the practice. We found training was up to date, learning needs and development of staff was managed appropriately, and staff were working within their agreed areas of competence. Safe recruitment practices were followed.
We did identify that staff had not completed any learning disability and autistic people support training, however shortly after the inspection, the practice provided evidence to show this had been completed.
We also identified for 1 non-medical prescribers although regular supervision was happening, this was not always documented, once we raised this, the lead GP informed us they would start formally documenting supervision sessions.
 

The service assessed and managed the risk of infection. They detected and controlled the risk of it spreading and shared concerns with appropriate agencies promptly.
The practice had a designated infection, prevention and control lead and all staff had had relevant training. Cleaning schedules were in place and followed. Risk assessments and audits were completed, and actions taken to mitigate risks.
 

The service made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. They involved people in planning, including when changes happened. Our review of records showed regular medicine reviews were carried out for people who used the service to ensure their medicines were safe and appropriate for their needs. However, we did identify that for patients who did not attend the practice, the service was not always reducing prescribed medicines to aid in encouraging patients to come in. When this was raised with the practice they explained they were monitoring patients and would be starting a reduction process of prescriptions for these patients.
Staff involved people in reviews of their medicines and helped them understand how to manage their medicines safely. People knew what to do and who to contact if their condition did not improve or they experienced any unexpected symptoms. Staff received regular training, were competency assessed on medicines optimisation, and felt confident managing the storage, administration and recording of medicines. Staff managed prescription stationery appropriately and securely. Staff followed protocols to ensure they prescribed all medicines safely, and ensured people received all recommended medicines reviews and monitoring. Medicines including controlled drugs were stored securely and at appropriate temperatures. Staff regularly checked the stock levels and expiry dates for all medicines, including emergency medicines, vaccines, and controlled drugs. We did identify that the practice did not stock 1 emergency medicine, and they had not undertaken a formal risk assessment for not stocking this. When we raised this with the practice shortly after the inspection, they provided us with a detailed risk assessment for not stocking this item. Waste medicines were recorded and disposed of appropriately including medicines returned by patients. Staff stored medical gases, such as oxygen, safely and completed required safety risk assessments. The provider had effective systems to manage and respond to safety alerts and medicine recalls. Staff followed established processes to ensure people prescribed medicines with specific risks received recommended monitoring. Staff took steps to ensure they prescribed medicines appropriately to optimise care outcomes, including antibiotics. Prescribing data reviewed as part of our assessment confirmed this. For example, the number of antimicrobials issued by the provider was lower than local and national averages. There was a programme of regular clinical audits of prescribing that focused on improving care and treatment.