A KNUTSFORD surgery has been given a clean bill of health by government inspectors.

The Toft Road Surgery was rated as 'good' in a number of key areas by the Care Quality Commission, which included it having systems in place to mitigate safety risk, the premises was clean and tidy, the practice promoted health education, patients had their needs properly assessed, patients said staff were both kind and caring and its well trained team was responsive to both their complaints and feedback.

A report on the inspection, which was carried out last December, was published recently.

It said, the surgery was responsive to the needs of all of it patients, which included a higher than average population of elderly people who were well supported.

The practice had also been the first in the area to pilot the Patient Choose and Book Service for referrals to hospitals of their choice.

It had also helped set up the Good Neighbours for Knutsford, a service which transports patients to and from hospital appointments.

It supported patients with learning disabilities by ensuring a practice nurse visited and arranged an annual health check to coincide with the flu vaccination. It also helped identify vulnerable patients at possible risk from admission to hospital.

Professor Steve Field, the chief inspector of General Practice said an area for improvement was to ensure a system was in place for checking how many prescription pads were available on the premises and tracking when they were used so they could all be accounted for.