A GP practice is celebrating after being given the highest possible rating by inspectors.

St Lawrence Surgery in Worthing was said to be outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following a visit in August.

It was found to be outstanding for being responsive and well led while good for being safe, effective and caring.

Areas highlighted included employing a care co-ordinator to act as a liaision between the surgery, patients and other teams, including those providing social or palliative support.

The practice was also found to work closely with the patient participation group (PPG) on subjects including walking, singing and weight-management groups and considered it an important part of the team.

CQC deputy chief inspector of general practice Ruth Rankine said: “We found St Lawrence Surgery was providing an excellent service, particularly in working with other organisations and the local community to ensure that they met patients’ needs

“I was particularly impressed with practice’s work to ensure a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority and the strategy to deliver this vision developed in conjunction with the patient participation group

“The surgery staff have demonstrated a real commitment to their patients.

“All of this hard work and dedication pays off in making a real difference– which is why we have found this practice to be outstanding.”

In a statement on the surgery website, practice manager Josiane Wadey said: “We are absolutely thrilled with this rating, especially in light of how tough it currently is in GP practices.

“Worthing alone has had three GP practices close down which has caused us to have another sharp rise in our patient list size.

“However we are fortunate enough to have the most dedicated team of staff here who work tirelessly to provide the best service they can to our patients.

“We also have one of the most proactive patient participation groups who are integral to the surgery and we would not have got this rating without them.

We are not perfect but we continually strive to ensure that we give the best possible care we can to our patients despite the challenges along the way.

“This is a very proud moment for everybody and we would like to thank all our patients for being so supportive and patient.”