Worcester GP surgery returns to high standards 12 months on from damning report

A surgery has celebrated reaching a good standard across the board just 12 months after damning CQC report.

Thorneloe Lodge Surgery in Worcester was rated as “requiring improvement” in 2025 by the Care Quality Commission following concerns around patient safety and management.

However, the latest inspection carried out in May found significant improvements in all areas and upgraded the surgery’s rating to “good” overall.

Dr Mark Davis, senior partner at Thorneloe Lodge Surgery, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded a ‘Good’ rating following our recent CQC inspection.

“This reflects the significant improvements made across the practice and the dedication and hard work of our entire team over recent months.

“The inspection recognised the positive changes we have implemented, including strengthening our medicines management processes and enhancing the way we deliver care to our patients.

“While we acknowledged the findings of the previous inspection, Thorneloe Lodge Surgery has historically achieved Good ratings and this latest result demonstrates our commitment to maintaining high standards of safe, effective and patient-centred care.”

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The previous inspection identified inadequate governance and management.

The previous inspection found that systems and processes for managing medicines and long-term conditions were not operating effectively, and warned that patients had been “put at risk” as a result.

In the updated report, it said: “The practice had developed more robust systems and processes to monitor medicines effectively.

“They had established governance processes that were appropriate for their service to deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support.

“The practice had clear responsibilities, roles and systems of accountability.

“We saw evidence of clinical audits that reflected improvements to patient care.”

Another area where the significant shortfalls had been found was in medicine optimisation, with patients not being made aware of risks associated with the medication they were taking.

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The updated report said: “We identified a total of 683 medication reviews that had been completed for patients in last 3 months.

“We reviewed a random sample of 5 medication reviews and found that all of these reviews were completed appropriately with detail in the patient record.”

The report also praised the surgery for following an antibiotic stewardship policy, and for staff regularly inspecting emergency machines and medicine.

Dr Davis added: “We remain focused on providing the best possible service for our patients, and our teams continue to work closely together to improve access to care, whether patients contact us by telephone, use our online services, or visit the practice in person.

“We are proud of what has been achieved, and we will continue to look for ways to improve our services further.”