The Weaverham Surgery

Updated 1 February 2019

The Weaverham Surgery is in the village of Weaverham in Cheshire. The practice has a car park, there is a local bus service and a pharmacy is located nearby.

The provider is registered with CQC to deliver the Regulated Activities; diagnostic and screening procedures, family planning services, maternity and midwifery services, surgical procedures and treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

The Weaverham Surgery is situated within the Vale Royal Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and provides services to 7,412 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.

At this practice there are three GP partners and two salaried GPs. There is a senior practice nurse, practice nurse and a respiratory nurse. Clinicians are supported by a practice manager and reception and administration staff.

There are a higher than average number of patients aged 65 years and over compared to local and national averages. The National General Practice Profile states that 98% of the practice population is from a white background. Information published by Public Health England, rates the level of deprivation within the practice population group as seven, on a scale of one to ten. Level one represents the highest levels of deprivation and level ten the lowest. Male life expectancy is 80 years compared to the national average of 79 years. Female life expectancy is 84 years compared to the national average of 83 years.

Updated 1 February 2019

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Weaverham Surgery on 17 December 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

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.

We found that:

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses.
• 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 reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
• The most recent results from the GP national patient survey (August 2018) showed patient satisfaction with the service for making an appointment, appointment times, overall experience and getting through to the practice by telephone were below local and national averages. The provider had made changes to the service to address this and was continuing to monitor patient satisfaction through patient feedback.
• The practice organised and delivered services to meet the needs of patients.
• There was a system in place for investigating and responding to patient feedback including complaints.
• There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

• Introduce a system to monitor two-week rule referrals to ensure patients receive the tests they are referred for.
• Record a risk assessment to demonstrate how the range of emergency medications held was determined.

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

Updated 1 February 2019

Updated 1 February 2019

Updated 1 February 2019

Updated 1 February 2019

Updated 1 February 2019

Updated 1 February 2019