Northwich GP practice is no longer in need of improvement

Watling Street Medical Centre's recent rating of good in all areas is a result of a review of the service earlier this year.

Previously, last year, the GP practice was in need of improvement in two of the key questions - 'Are services safe?' and 'Are services well-led?'.

Now it is good in all areas and it is not in breach of any regulations under the Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations.

A report said: "Since the last assessment the practice had made improvements and is no longer in breach of regulations."

Watling Street Medical Centre has more than 6,000 patients from the area of Northwich.

It has an overall satisfaction of around 78 per cent in the most recent GP Patient Survey.

In Mid Cheshire it is in tenth position behind Northwich area surgeries such as Firdale Medical Centre, Witton Street Surgery and Weaverham Surgery but ahead of Northwich area surgeries such as Middlewich Road Surgery, Danebridge Medical Centre and Oakwood Medical Centre.

Richard Lowe, a business partner at the practice, said he was pleased with the progress.

Mr Lowe said: "We are delighted that the Care Quality Commission has rated the practice as 'good' overall, and 'good' across all five indicators following its latest inspection. This is a significant achievement and reflects the dedication, commitment and resilience of our entire team.

"Since our last inspection we developed and implemented a comprehensive improvement programme, strengthened our governance processes, invested in staff development and continued to focus on delivering safe, effective and compassionate care. Achieving a 'good' rating demonstrates the positive impact of that work.

"We would like to thank our patients for their continued support throughout this journey. Their feedback has played an important role in helping us improve our services.

"Our focus now is on maintaining these high standards and continuing to enhance the care we provide."

The Care Quality Commission is the inspector of health and social care providers across England.

It inspects five areas of health and social care provision on a scale of 'inadequate' to 'outstanding'.

Watling Street Medical Centre:

Safe - Good - 72 out of 100
Effective - Good - 71 out of 100
Caring - Good - 75 out of 100
Responsive - Good - 75 out of 100
Well-Led - Good - 75 out of 100

For information on the inspection go to www.cqc.org.uk.