Background to this inspection
Updated
14 February 2019
Chiddingfold surgery is located in purpose built premises in a semi-rural location in Chiddingfold, Surrey. The surgery has some local transport links and there is a volunteer community transport service available. The practice provides a dispensing service to those patients on the practice list who live more than one mile from their nearest pharmacy.
The provider is registered with CQC to deliver the Regulated Activities; diagnostic and screening procedures, maternity and midwifery services, surgical procedures, family planning services and treatment of disease, disorder or injury.
Chiddingfold surgery is situated within the NHS Guildford and Waverley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and provides services to 4,800 patients under the terms of a general medical services (GMS) contract. This is a contract between general practices and NHS England for delivering services to the local community.
The provider is a partnership. There are four GP partners, both male and female. The practice team also includes a practice manager, practice nurses, healthcare assistants, a dispensary manager and dispensing staff, administrative and reception staff.
There are higher than average number of patients over the age of 65 compared to the national average and a marginally higher than average proportion of children under the age of 18. The practice population faced lower levels of deprivation than the national average, placed in the last deprived decile. There is a higher than average proportion of patients with a long-standing health condition when compared local and national averages.
The practice is open from 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday with extended hours appointments available on a Monday evening from 6.30pm to 8.45pm.
The practice has opted out of providing Out-of-Hours services to its own patients and uses the services of a local Out-of-Hours provider when it is closed.
We visited the practice location at Ridgeley Road, Chiddingfold, Godalming, Surrey, GU8 4QP. Chiddingfold Surgery also operates a branch surgery at Dunsfold Surgery, 20 Griggs Meadow, Dunsfold, Surrey, GU8 4ND. We did not visit the branch surgery as part of our inspection.
Information relating to the practice can be found on their website, www.chiddsurg.co.uk.
Updated
14 February 2019
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Chiddingfold Surgery on 5 December 2018 as part of our inspection programme.
At the last inspection in November 2017 we rated the practice as requires improvement for providing safe and well-led services because:
- Safety alerts were not always actioned.
- Action was not always taken in relation to vaccine fridge temperatures being outside of the required range.
- Systems to manage risk were not always effective.
At this inspection, we found that the provider had satisfactorily addressed these areas.
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 have rated this practice as good overall and good for all population groups except for the care for older people which we found outstanding.
We found that:
- The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
- The arrangements for dispensing medicines at the practice kept patients safe.
- The practice acted on and learned from external safety events as well as patient and medicine safety alerts.
- Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
- The practice provided health promotion initiatives within the local community. This included attending the local events to provide advice and monitoring such as blood pressure testing and sexual health education to a local school.
- Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
- Feedback from patients was positive and the results from the national GP patient survey showed a positive variation in patients’ experience of accessing the service.
- The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. 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-centre care.
We rated the practice as outstanding for providing services to older people because:
- The practice demonstrated a 32% reduction in elderly patients accessing care home services and a 52% reduction in accident and emergency attendance since the practice had participated in a local frailty initiative.
Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:
- Continue to work to improve the uptake of childhood immunisations.
- Ensure that near misses within the dispensary and the learning from them are recorded.
Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice