The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Cheriton Bishop & Teign Valley Practice

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

The Surgery, Cheriton Bishop, Exeter, Devon, EX6 6JA (01647) 24272

Provided and run by:
Cheriton Bishop & Teign Valley Practice

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of Assessment: 3 March 2026 to 11 March 2026. Cheriton Bishop Teign Valley Practice is a GP practice that delivers services to approximately 5,400 people across a range of villages under a contract held with NHS England. The service has a main site at Cheriton Bishop and a branch site at Christow. The service has a dispensary at the main site. The National General Practice Profiles states that 98% are White and the rest are of non-White ethnic groups. The service had a higher proportion of older people, especially aged 70-79 years, and a lower proportion of children and young people, when compared with the national and local averages. Information published by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the 6th decile (6 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.

The service had a good learning culture and people could raise concerns. Leaders investigated incidents thoroughly. People were protected and kept safe. Staff understood and managed risks. The service made sure equipment and facilities supported the delivery of safe care. The service assessed and managed the risk of infection. Staff managed medicines well and involved people in planning any changes. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Leaders made sure staff received training and regular appraisals to maintain high-quality care. However, the newly implemented processes for structured clinical supervision and clinical competency checks were not yet fully embedded in the service.

People were involved in assessments of their needs. Staff reviewed assessments taking into account people's communication, personal and health needs. Care was based on the latest evidence and good practice. The service worked well across teams and services to support people. Staff made sure people understood their care and treatment to enable them to give informed consent.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity. They treated them as individuals and supported their preferences. People had choices in their care and treatment. The service supported 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 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. Leaders 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 new ideas.

15 July 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Cheriton Bishop & Teign Valley Practice on 15 July 2015. Overall the practice is rated as outstanding.

Specifically, we found the practice to be outstanding for providing responsive and caring services. It was good for being safe, effective and well led. It was outstanding for all six population groups.

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.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were involved in decisions about their treatment. Information was provided to help patients understand the care available to them.
  • Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following current guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
  • The practice worked closely with other organisations, charities and with the local community in planning how services were provided, to ensure that they meet patient need.
  • The practice had implemented improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a consequence of feedback from patients and from the patient participation group (PPG).
  • The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
  • Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand
  • The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as the top priorities. A business plan was in place, this was monitored regularly and reviewed and discussed with all staff. High standards were promoted and owned by all practice staff with evidence of team working across all roles.

We saw several areas of outstanding practice including:

Unannounced role play training had been additionally provided for staff to practice and review their response and skills when dealing with emergencies.

The practice reached out to the community and supported and worked in partnership with a local charitable community support service (ACORN). The practice offered office space and resources to this charity who provided transport and prescription delivery in a rural area and offered services such as lunch clubs, coffee mornings and trips to the supermarket which reduced social isolation. The practice invited the coordinator of Acorn to the monthly multidisciplinary team meetings where the pastoral care, equipment provision and monitoring of vulnerable patients was coordinated.

The practice was exceptionally caring. Patients said that staff went the extra mile and the care they received exceeded their expectations, this was in line with the practice track record of consistently being above national average data scores for patient care and treatment. Patients repeatedly referred to the service as being caring, respectful, exceptional, efficient and outstanding and shared many examples which supported that staff had gone above and beyond what was expected.

Patients described the practice as being very responsive to their needs. Services were tailored to meet the needs of patients and were delivered in a way to ensure flexibility, choice and continuity of care. This responsive service had resulted in excellent survey results and significantly lower Accident and Emergency attendance rates.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice