The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Ballater Surgery

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

108 Chislehurst Road, Orpington, Kent, BR6 0DP (01689) 826664

Provided and run by:
Ballater Surgery

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of Assessment: 17 to 22 June 2026. Ballater Surgery is a GP practice and delivers service to approximately 10,704 patients under a contract held with NHS England. The National General Practice Profiles states that the ethnic make-up of the service is approximately 77.6% White, 11.6% Asian, 5% Black, 4% Mixed and 1.8% Other. Information published by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the 8th decile (8 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 assessment was carried out in order to provide an up to date rating for the service.

SAFE: 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. Staff managed medicines well and involved people in planning any changes. Not all staff had completed relevant training for their role, and some recruitment records were incomplete.

EFFECTIVE: 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. Patients with long-term conditions did not always receive care and treatment in line with best practice guidelines.

CARING: 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.

RESPONSIVE: 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. 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. The practice had taken action in response to patient feedback regarding access.

WELL-LED: 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. There was a culture of continuous improvement with staff given time and resources to try new ideas.

19 January 2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Ballater Surgery on 19 January 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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.
  • 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.
  • 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 and was available in five non-English local languages relevant to the practice population.
  • 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.
  • The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
  • There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
  • The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.
  • The practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a consequence of feedback from patients and from the Patient Participation Group.

We saw several areas of outstanding practice:

  • The practice had trained a member of staff to become Patient Liaison Officer (PLO) who assisted in care planning for older patients for example with dementia. The PLO usually contacted the patient after their initial care plan had been set up. Patients were given access to the PLO by phone, to contact if they have any non-clinical queries for example about hospital appointments (booking and chasing), transport and signposted to services available locally. They had shared this initiative with other practices in the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area and had helped train fifteen administrative staff for the PLO role from GP practices across the CCG.

  • The practice had access to medical advice for children by the use of e-mail consultations for example the parents could send photos to help identify childhood rashes.

  • The practice placed a strong emphasis on supporting carers of patients with long-term conditions. The practice hosted its own carers support group and had also run carers workshops on subjects such as emotional wellbeing.

  • The practice ran a memory assessment clinic which was led by the healthcare assistant specifically trained to perform this assessment. This had increased the dementia diagnosis rate in the practice. The practice found that many patients did not want a diagnosis of dementia and the patients with possible/likely diagnosis of dementia were identified and were coded to alert staff of their possible increased needs.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

  • Ensure there is a supply of hot water in all the areas of the practice including consulting rooms.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice