- GP practice
Consett Medical Centre
Report from 6 June 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of Assessment: 14 July 2025 to 15 July 2025. Consett Medical Centre is a GP practice and delivers service to approximately 16,860 patients under a contract held with NHS England. The National General Practice Profiles states that 23.6% of patients are classified as older people, compared to the England average of 17.5%, indicating an older patient demographic. Information published by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities showed that deprivation within the practice population group was in the fifth decile (5 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others. 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 was a responsive assessment carried out as a follow-up to the previous assessment conducted in January 2025, when the service was rated Good overall but received a Requires Improvement rating under the key question of Safe. At that time, a breach of Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment) was identified. The purpose of this follow-up assessment was to evaluate the progress made in addressing the identified concerns and to determine whether the necessary improvements had been implemented to ensure compliance.
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's experience of this service
People were positive about the quality of their care and treatment. Recent survey results, including from the National GP Patient Survey and the NHS Friends and Family Test, showed people were satisfied with the service.
In the 2025 National GP Patient Survey, 77% of respondents reported a positive overall experience of their GP practice, similar to the national average of 75%. Additionally, 91% of respondents said the healthcare professional was very good or fairly good at listening to them during their last appointment. This was above the national average of 87%.
Results from the NHS Friends and Family Test indicated a good level of patient satisfaction with the overall experience of care. Between April and July 2025, a total of 1,650 responses were received. Of those who responded, 91.6% said they were 'likely' or 'very likely' to recommend the GP practice to friends and family in April, 88.2% in May, 88.8% in June and 90.6% in July.
Feedback from the Patient Participation Group (PPG) indicated a generally positive and constructive relationship between the practice and its patients. Members described the practice as responsive to feedback and open to dialogue, noting that proposals to improve the appointments system were well received and supported by the PPG. While collaboration appeared to be effective, there were calls to improve the layout and structure of meeting minutes. PPG members also noted that both clinical and practice matters were discussed openly, and staff—including GPs and the Practice Manager—were described as engaged and committed to service improvement. However, some concerns were raised regarding the limited diversity and size of the PPG.
Staff from an aligned care home provided positive feedback regarding the standard of care delivered by Consett Medical Centre to their residents, specifically noting that the care received from the practice was of an excellent standard.