Harlow Road Surgery

Updated 14 April 2026

We carried out an assessment of Harlow Road Surgery on the 27 April 2026; this is a GP practice that delivers services to approximately 4,012 people under a GP contract held with NHS England. According to the latest available data, the ethnic make-up of the service area is approximately 68% White, 12% Asian, 4% Mixed, 14% Black and 2% Other. Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows deprivation within the service population group is in the 6 decile (6 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the service population is relative to others.

We undertook this assessment due to the time elapsed since the previous inspection. This was a focused assessment. We assessed 10 specific quality statements, across 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. The assessment did not contain a review of clinical practices. 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 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. People could mostly access care, treatment and support when they needed it. Staff understood their individual roles and responsibilities. Leaders accounted for the actions, behaviours and performance of staff through clear and effective governance processes.

Updated 14 April 2026

As part of our assessment, we reviewed feedback from people who used the service to understand their views and experience. The 2025 National GP Patient Survey results had 92 responses, this showed people were mostly satisfied with services provided but there were areas for improvements. For example, 78% of patients stated their needs were met and 67% stated they had a very or fairly good overall experience, which were both below the national and local averages. In addition, 75% stated they had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to, the national average in comparison was 91% and the local 88%.

In response in October 2025 the practice carried out a Friends and Family survey (FFT) receiving 68 responses. Of these, 47 people rated the practice as good, 12 as poor, and 3 as neither good nor poor. Peoples’ comments highlighted key themes, such as people felt consultations were rushed, and staff lacked compassion and did not always listen. In response to the findings, the practice shared and discussed the feedback with all staff, and reinforced the importance of communication, active listening, and patient experience. Leaders placed greater emphasis on providing sufficient consultation time and enhancing the quality of interactions.

A follow‑up survey in March 2026 received 73 responses and showed improvements. Of these, 62 people rated the practice as good, 7 as poor, and 4 as neither good nor poor. In addition, no further comments were made about the clinician’s attitudes.

The practice held regular patient participation group (PPG) meetings, where peoples feedback was responded to and changes discussed. We spoke with members of the PPG who provided positive feedback.