A BASINGSTOKE GP practice which is responsible for the care of around 42,000 patients has been graded as ‘good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection.

The Camrose, Gillies, and Hackwood Partnership (CGH), based at Gillies Health Centre, in Sullivan Road, Brighton Hill, was visited by the CQC in July.

A report published on November 12 graded it as ‘good’ overall, and in all areas, including well-led, responsive, caring, and safe.

It entered a partnership with American-owned Operose Health last year because of falling GP numbers.

The practice has two branch surgeries at St Andrew’s Centre, in Western Way, South Ham, and Essex House, in Essex Road.

The report said the same team of staff remained following the partnership, adding: “But all staff were supported by new ways of working in terms of HR, finance, administrative processes and training.”

CGH has a team of six GP partners and 17 salaried GPs who provide cover at all three sites, alongside a team of 22 additional clinical staff including nurses and health care assistants.

The CQC report said: “The practice had made changes and improvements in the areas we identified at our last inspection.”

It was last inspected in March 2019 when it was rated as ‘requires improvement’. At the time, requirement notices were issued by the CQC.

Following the recent inspection, the CQC said the practice “provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm”.

It added: “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 inspector also said: “Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care”.

In December last year, the Gazette reported that councillors decided to review GP services across Basingstoke and Deane.

At the time, the standard of service at CGH was likened to that of a third world country by one councillor, in terms of the number of patients to each GP.

Dr Anna Reed of CGH said: "Our latest CQC inspection rating of 'good' across all areas recognises the hard work of every member of our team. These are very challenging times for GP surgeries, so it wonderful to see the kindness and respect for patients in our practices highlighted by the CQC.”