• Doctor
  • GP practice

Haltwhistle Medical Group

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Greencroft Avenue, Haltwhistle, Northumberland, NE49 9AP (01434) 320077

Provided and run by:
Haltwhistle Medical Group

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of Assessment: 21 July 2026. Haltwhistle Medical Group is a GP practice and delivers services to approximately 5,600 people under a contract held with NHS England. According to the latest available data, the ethnic make-up of the service area is approximately 99% White, 0.3% Asian, 0.5% Mixed, 0.1% Black and 0.1% Other. Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows deprivation within the service population group is in the 5th decile (5 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the service population is relative to others.

This was a focused assessment. We undertook this assessment due to the length of time since our last assessment. We assessed 10 quality statements from across all 5 key questions. 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.

Staff kept facilities clean and maintained equipment appropriately to ensure people were kept safe. They assessed and managed the risk of infection well and took steps to control the risk of it spreading. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience.

Staff supported people to live healthier lives, monitoring their care and treatment to ensure they received positive and consistent outcomes.

Staff treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion, and respected their privacy and dignity.

People could access care, treatment and support when they needed it. Leaders and staff were alert to discrimination and inequality that could disadvantage groups of people who used the service and sought ways to address any barriers.

The provider had a clear vision and strategy, which considered the needs of the people who used their service and the wider community. Staff understood their individual roles and responsibilities. Leaders accounted for the actions, behaviours and performance of staff through clear and effective governance processes.

11 December 2017

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

At our previous inspection on 14 October 2014, we rated the practice as good overall. At this inspection, we have also rated the practice as good.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:

Older People – Good

People with long-term conditions – Good

Families, children and young people – Good

Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good

People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good

People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Haltwhistle Medical Group on 11 December 2017 to check the provider continues to meet the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

At this inspection we found:

  • The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.

  • The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care and treatment they provided. Staff ensured that care and treatment was delivered in line with evidence- based guidelines.

  • Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care and treatment when they needed it.

  • There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

  • The practice had a clear vision to deliver high quality care and promote good outcomes for patients. There were a strong and cohesive staff team, with high levels of staff satisfaction.

We also saw an area of outstanding practice:

  • Feedback from patients about access to appointments, the practice’s opening hours and the quality of their care and treatment was continuously very positive. The results of the NHS National GP Patient Survey, published in July 2017, showed patients rated the practice higher for all aspects of care, when compared to the local clinical commissioning group (CCG) and national averages. This high level of achievement had been sustained over a number of years.

The area where the provider should make an improvement is:

  • Consider carrying out regular audits of the practice’s consent process.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

14 October 2014

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of Haltwhistle Medical Group on 14 October 2014.

We rated the practice overall as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

• The practice covered a large geographical and rural area, services had been designed to meet the needs of the local population.

• Feedback from patients was overwhelmingly positive, they told us staff treated them with respect and kindness.

• Staff reported feeling supported and able to voice any concerns or make suggestions for improvement.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice