- GP practice
Birchwood Surgery
Report from 24 December 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of Assessment: 17 and 18 February 2025. Birchwood Surgery is a GP practice which, along with its branch site of Sollershott Surgery, delivers services to 18,365 people under a contract held with NHS England. The National General Practice Profiles states of the people registered, 84.6% are White, 6.6% are Asian, 3.1% are Black, 3.1% are mixed and 1.3% are other ethnicities. Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the sixth decile (6 out of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others. This assessment considered the demographics of the people using the service, the context the service was working within, and how this impacted service delivery. Where relevant, further commentary is provided in the quality statements section of this report. Our assessment found the service overall as requires improvement. There was not always a good learning culture and people could not always raise concerns. People were not always protected and kept safe. Staff understood risk, however, processes for managing risk required strengthening. Medicines monitoring was not always effective and stronger governance processes were required for safe care. There was a lack of effective governance processes in some areas. However, we saw staff treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect, and without discrimination. Staff made sure people understood their care and treatment to enable them to give informed consent. Staff reviewed assessments taking account of people’s communication, personal, and health needs.
People's experience of this service
People were mostly positive about the quality of their care and treatment. Recent survey results, including from the 2024 National GP Patient Survey and the NHS Friends and Family Test, showed people had mixed views of the services. There was an active patient participation group (PPG) that represented the views of people using the service. People were not always involved in decisions about their care. The service provided information people could understand. People knew how to give feedback, however, they were not always confident the service took it seriously and acted on it. The service was easy to access and feedback from people was positive. The service worked to reduce health and care inequalities through training and feedback. Leaders and staff did not always demonstrate a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust. Leaders were visible, knowledgeable and supportive, helping staff develop in their roles. Staff felt supported to give feedback and were treated equally, free from bullying or harassment. Staff did not always understand their roles and responsibilities. Managers worked with the local community to deliver the best possible care and were receptive to new ideas.