• Doctor
  • GP practice

Front Street Surgery Also known as Drs Orr, Green, Pal & Nellist

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

14 Front Street, Acomb, York, North Yorkshire, YO24 3BZ (01904) 406860

Provided and run by:
Front Street Surgery

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of Assessment: 30 September 2025 to 7 October 2025. Front Street Surgery is a GP practice and delivers service to 8631 patients under a contract held with NHS England. There is also a branch surgery (Copmanthorpe Surgery) which is open from 8am until noon, Monday to Friday. We visited the branch surgery as part of our assessment, and the findings form part of our judgement. The National General Practice Profiles states that the patient population is 96% white, 2% Asian, less than 1% Black, 1% Mixed and less than 1% other. Information published by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the 7th decile (7 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is, in relation 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.

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 to make decisions in people’s best interests where they did not have capacity. Monitoring of patients with long term conditions and those on high-risk medicines was thorough and timely.

People were treated with exceptional kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity. They treated them as individuals and supported their preferences, going beyond their roles at times, to achieve positive outcomes. People had choice in their care and treatment. The service prioritised teamworking and 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 innovative ideas.

7/11/2018

During a routine inspection

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous rating December 2014 – Good)

The key questions at this inspection are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Front Street Surgery on 7 November 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

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 it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
  • Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
  • Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they could access care when they needed it.
  • Although the practice had staff shortages due to retirement and sickness all staff reported that it was a supportive and caring place to work.
  • There was a strong focus on staff support, development and continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation. The practice team had been nominated by junior doctors, and won, the GP training practice of the year award 2017 from Hull York Medical school

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

  • Clinical staff were given a week’s study leave built into their holiday entitlement each year.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

  • The provider should ensure that all staff have regular appraisals and training updates.
  • The provider should ensure that recruitment checks are undertaken and documented for all staff including locums.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

Please refer to the detailed report and the evidence tables for further information.

10 December 2014

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced, comprehensive inspection at Front Street Surgery on 10 December 2014 of Front Street Surgery. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

  • Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. All opportunities for learning from internal and external incidents were maximised.
  • People told us they were treated with professionalism and respect, and that the practice responded well to patients that were visiting the area for patient care and support.
  • The practice worked well with other providers, especially around long term conditions and palliative care.
  • The practice offered a variety of pre-booked appointments, extended opening hours and regular home visits.
  • Incidents and complaints were appropriately investigated and responded to.
  • The practice had a good governance system in place, was well organised and actively sought to learn from performance data, complaints, incidents and feedback.
  • The practice actively sought the opinions of staff and patients, working with a well-established patient participation group (PPG).
  • The practice showed a patient centred approach to delivering care and treatment.
  • The practice was proactive in improving health and access to services and engaged with other health and social care agencies to improve access and patients health.

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

Importantly the provider should:

  • Ensure all staff are aware of policies and make them readily available.
  • Ensure Infection Prevention Control (IPC) audits are kept up to date.
  • Ensure annual appraisals are completed for all staff.
  • Complete chaperone training for administration staff if conducting chaperone duties.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice