Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of Bedford House Medical Centre on 8 April 2015. We found the practice was performing at a level which led to a ratings judgement of requires improvement.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing caring and responsive services. It requires improvement for providing a safe, effective and well led service for the population groups we assess.

Our key findings were as follows:

• Staff spoken with told us information about safety incidents was recorded and discussed during weekly meetings.
• Staff knew to report concerns about patients’ safety to a senior member of staff.
• Some improvements were needed to the way medicines were managed.
• Systems were in place to prevent and protect people from health-care associated infections.
• A range of policies and procedures were in place to support staff in their role.
• Patients with long term conditions were monitored annually for medicines or more often if needed.
• Patients were positive about the service they experienced. Patients said the practice offered an excellent service and the reception staff were helpful and polite. They said the GPs listened to what they had to say and offered excellent care.
• The CQC patient comment cards returned to us indicated that patients felt reassured by the GPs who cared for them.
• A complaint policy was available to patients so they knew what to do if they were unhappy with the service provided.

However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

Importantly, the provider must:

• Ensure medicines are managed safely.
• Ensure thorough staff recruitment procedures are followed when employing new staff.
• Ensure governance systems are in place that bring about improvements to the service.

In addition the provider should:

• Ensure a full cycle of clinical auditing takes place to ensure positive outcomes for patients.
• Ensure a full cycle of auditing takes place in relation to significant events to ensure positive outcomes for patients.
• Ensure all staff are aware of the whistleblowing policy to provide them with a way of reporting concerns anonymously.
• Ensure a full infection control audit is completed to assess systems in place for maintaining safe standards of hygiene in the practice.
• Ensure the record of checks made on the oxygen cylinder includes information about identifying potential faults.
• Ensure administrative staff are provided with an annual appraisal so they have opportunity to discuss their work and set targets for the future development of their role.
• Ensure the patient appointment system is reviewed so that patients are not directed to the local walk-in centre.
• Ensure patients with a learning disability are offered an annual health check.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at the practice of Bedford House Medical Centre on 16 November 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

The practice had been previously inspected on 8 April 2015. Following that inspection the practice was rated as requires improvement with the following domain ratings:

Safe – Requires Improvement

Effective – Requires improvement

Caring – Good

Responsive – Good

Well led – Requires improvement.

The practice provided us with an action plan detailing how they were going to make the required improvements.

The inspection on 16 November 2016 was to confirm the required actions had been completed and award a new rating if appropriate.

Following this re-inspection on 16 November 2016, our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed, including those relating to recruitment checks.

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.

• Data showed patient outcomes were mixed compared to those locally and nationally.
• Feedback from patients about their care was strongly positive,

• Patients said they were in the main treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.

• The practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a result of feedback from patients.

• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.

• Patient’s views were mixed when asked how easy it was to make an appointment including availability of same day appointments. The practice in response to patient feedback had introduced a new triage system as a means of improving access.

• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.

• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice