03/09/2025
PATIENT NEWS
The Simpson Centre and Penn Surgery
CQC Inspection Report September 2025
The Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care in England, have announced an overall rating of The Simpson Centre & Penn Surgery as ‘Outstanding’ following an inspection conducted in July-August 2025.
Read the full report here: https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-13542316756/reports/AP13286/overall
The inspection report published by the CQC judged that the 2 site practice with nearly 19,000 patients was ‘Outstanding’ in it’s provision of ‘Caring’, ‘Responsive’, ‘Effective’ and ‘Well-led’ services; reporting that the practice demonstrated a proactive, consistent, and learning safety culture based on openness and honesty.
This result puts The Simpson Centre & Penn Surgery in the top 39 practices in the country according to the CQC's assessment, within the top 0.6% of GP services in England and are the first to be rated this highly by the CQC in the last 5 years. We are also the first practice in Buckinghamshire with an ‘Outstanding’ rating under the CQC's current inspection framework.
This inspection was the first for the practice since moving to new premises and investing in a new leadership team. The CQC reported that staff felt valued and respected by leaders who encouraged them to raise concerns and suggest new ideas or initiatives to help continually improve their practice, and there were many clear examples of how this supportive and collaborative leadership style had led to improved patient safety and patient experience.
The Simpson Centre & Penn Surgery were described as ‘exceptional’ and ‘second-to-none’ in treating patients with kindness, empathy and compassion, as well as respecting people’s privacy and dignity. The CQC noted that all staff they spoke to displayed a passion for the practice and for what they were aspiring to achieve together, with a strong shared culture and vision based on listening, learning and trust.
People using the service were ‘respected and valued as individuals’, and received top-quality care. This was reflected in the range of feedback collected as part of this inspection as well as other sources of feedback from patients in the local community. The CQC highlighted results from the National GP Patient Survey earlier this year which showed 88% of respondents described their overall experience of the practice as good. This was a 4% increase on the results of the previous year and remained higher than the local average (76%) and the national average (75%). The practice also monitors feedback following every consultation and over the last 4 months had received 3,609 responses, of which 96% rated the service received as ‘good’ or ‘very good’.
Dr Will Owen, GP and Managing Partner of The Simpson Centre & Penn Surgery, said: “The rating of our Practices as ‘Outstanding’ is a tribute to all our amazing staff, who routinely go the extra mile to deliver exceptional patient care. As a team we are committed to providing the best possible care for our community, value the input of our excellent Patient Participation Group, and strive to continually improve the services that we offer. I am also proud that we also work collaboratively with colleagues from other teams in our local neighbourhood – including NHS, local authority and voluntary sector partners – to provide such a wide range of services that proactively support our community to live happy and healthy lives.”
“At a time of significant change for General Practice, with this Government’s plans to move care from hospitals into the community and emphasise preventative rather than reactive care, this independent assessment shows that we are able to deliver exactly this, providing cutting-edge care in an person-centred and responsive way, and with a committed team who will not waver in their dedication to ensure we continue providing outstanding and sustainable care through the coming years.”
