The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

The Chorley Surgery

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

24-26 Gillibrand Street, Chorley, Lancashire, PR7 2EJ (01257) 513970

Provided and run by:
The Chorley 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 The Chorley 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 The Chorley Surgery, you can give feedback on this service.

04 August 2022

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced inspection at The Chorley Surgery on 4 August 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as Good

The ratings for each key question are:

Safe - Good

Effective – Good

Caring - Good

Responsive - Good

Well-led - Good

Following our previous inspection on 23 August 2017, the practice was rated Outstanding overall and for the key questions effective and well led and Good for the key questions safe, caring and responsive.

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

Why we carried out this inspection

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated good and outstanding to test the reliability of our new monitoring approach.

How we carried out the inspection

Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.

This included:

  • Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing
  • Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system and discussing findings with the provider
  • 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 have rated this practice as Good

We found that:

  • The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
  • Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
  • Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
  • The practice adjusted how it delivered services to meet the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. 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.

During the inspection we noted one outstanding feature:

  • The practice has placed staff wellbeing as a central strategic workstream alongside staff development planning. The practice ethos is to provide a supportive nurturing environment that actively seeks feedback from its team to ensure it is reflecting the needs of the team in all aspects of service development.

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

23 August 2017

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Chorley Surgery on 23 August 2017. Overall the practice is rated as outstanding .

Our key findings were as follows:

  • The practice had a strong vision, which put quality, effective care and treatment as its top priority. The strategy to deliver this vision had been produced with stakeholders and was regularly reviewed and discussed with staff.
  • The partnership and management team were structured with distinct roles and responsibilities, utilising the experience and skills of each member to the full. As a result, all business and clinical matters were delivered effectively at the practice.
  • The practice was committed to learning and development for its entire staff and used every opportunity provided by significant events, complaints, auditing and patient feedback as tools to drive improvement.
  • A comprehensive communication strategy was in place, which included regular internal and external meetings. These provided opportunities to review patient outcomes, to share learning and development, and to review achievements and evaluate progress in meeting objectives.
  • The practice had clearly defined and embedded systems to minimise risks to patient safety. There was an effective system in place for the reporting and recording of significant events. Significant events were investigated and learning outcomes were shared with the practice team to enhance the delivery of safe care to patients.
  • Comprehensive systems were established to safeguard children and vulnerable adults.
  • An active programme of clinical audit that reviewed care and ensured actions were implemented to enhance outcomes for patients was undertaken.
  • Patients told us they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect. They also said they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment. This was corroborated by the CQC comment cards and those patients we spoke with.
  • The practice provided leadership and innovation in planning, co-ordinating and delivering new initiatives in patient care. They worked with the wider health and social care multi-disciplinary team to deliver effective and responsive care to keep vulnerable patients safe. Enhanced monthly multi-disciplinary meetings took place to discuss and review patients’ needs.

We saw areas of outstanding practice including:

  • The bimonthly staff news bulletin was used as part of practice’s learning, development and communication strategy and provided comprehensive information for staff about the significant events, complaints and patients feedback received in the preceding two months and the changes implemented as a result of these.
  • The GP partners had initiated and led an innovative pilot scheme working collaboratively and in partnership with five GP practices, the local authority, paramedics, and the Lancashire Wellbeing Services to provide a Primary Care User Support team (PCUST). The purpose of PCUST was to identify patients who frequently requested the use of primary care services (high intensity users) and to provide them with a personalised care and support programme. Other areas of collaborative work included the facilitation and leadership of a diabetic hub service. The Chorley Surgery provided clinical support treatment to their own patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes (including complex cases) and the patients of the five GP practices they worked collaboratively with. The initial impact of the service enabled patients to be seen quickly within a three to four week wait at the diabetic hub as opposed to the secondary care waiting list of 20 weeks or more.

An area where the provider should make improvement is:

  • Continue to identify and support patients who are also carers

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice