The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Lime Tree Surgery

Overall: Outstanding read more about inspection ratings

1 Lime Tree Avenue, Cinderhill, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG8 6AB (0115) 979 1281

Provided and run by:
Lime Tree Surgery

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

We carried out a review of the data available to us about Lime Tree Surgery on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.

This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.

If you have concerns about Lime Tree Surgery, you can give feedback on this service.

29 September 2022

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Lime Tree Surgery on 29th September 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as outstanding.

Safe - good

Effective - outstanding

Caring - good

Responsive - good

Well-led - outstanding

Why we carried out this inspection

The service was inspected in December 2016 and was rated as Good overall with all key questions rated as Good.

We carried out this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated as Good and Outstanding to test the reliability of our new monitoring approach. This inspection was a comprehensive inspection to look at all key questions due to improvement found overall to outstanding.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Lime Tree Surgery on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

How we carried out the inspection

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site.

This included

  • Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
  • Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system (this was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements).
  • Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider.
  • Requesting evidence from the provider.
  • A short site visit.

Our findings

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

  • what we found when we inspected
  • information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We found that:

  • The practice had a clear mission to meet the changing demands of the population and create a centre of continual improvement via learning and feedback
  • There was a strong emphasis on quality improvement within the practice where outcomes for patients were monitored and demonstrated improvement.
  • Patients and staff were consistently positive about the practice.
  • The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
  • Patients received highly effective care and treatment that met their needs.
  • Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
  • Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
  • The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services

31 August 2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Lime Tree Surgery on 31 August 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 and near misses, and we saw evidence that learning was applied.

  • Feedback from patients about their care was consistently positive. Data from the GP survey was consistently high and this included confidence in care provided by GPs, nurses and the helpful approach of reception staff.

  • The practice was responsive to concerns about high attendances at hospital by women experiencing complications in early pregnancy. They amended their pregnancy information packs to include advice on complications in early pregnancy and contacting their GP in the first instance. The result was a 50% reduction in hospital attendances by pregnant women.

  • Patients were supported to live healthier by offering a weekly weighing clinic initiated by practice staff for weight loss management. Feedback from staff indicated they had achieved positive outcomes from attending the clinics by losing weight.

  • There was evidence of planned and co-ordinated patient care with the wider multi-disciplinary team to deliver effective and responsive care to keep vulnerable patients safe. There was a 21% reduction in admissions to hospital in patients identified as being at risk from June to August 2016.
  • 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 (PPG).
  • We found that complaints and identified issues were actively reviewed to ensure learning could be applied to improve patient experiences in the future.
  • The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority. There was a strong and visible clinical and managerial leadership and governance arrangements, and staff told us that they were well-supported and felt valued by the management.

We saw an area of outstanding practice:

  • The practice was responsive to concerns about high attendances at hospital by women in early pregnancy for bleeding. They amended their pregnancy information packs to include a leaflet giving advice on complications in early pregnancy and contacting their GP in the first instance. The result was a 50% reduction in hospital attendances by pregnant women. The leaflet was subsequently shared with other practices in the CCG as an effective tool to assist in reducing hospital attendances for pregnant woman.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice