Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection February 2015 – Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:

Older People – Good

People with long-term conditions – Good

Families, children and young people – Good

Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good

People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good

People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good

We carried out an announced/unannounced comprehensive/focused inspection at Beechwood Medical Centre on 19 December 2017 as part of our inspection programme of providers previously rated good.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.

• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.

• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.

• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

• National GP survey results showed patient satisfaction for nurse consultation was below the local and national averages. The practice acknowledged these results and took action by promoting the importance of patient feedback and carried out a practice based survey which demonstrated improvement.

• The practice had comprehensive systems in place for reviewing patient care including long-term conditions. Patient outcomes were significantly higher than local and national averages for several clinical indicators and the practice had a lower than average exception reporting rate.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

The practice worked with an IT Facilitator from the NHS City and Hackney Commissioning Support Unit to improve online access for patients. Out of 43 GP practices participating in the scheme within the borough of City and Hackney the practice was the top performing in improving access to online services for quarters one, two and at the time of the inspection during quarter three. The practice was the only practice involved in the scheme that not only exceeded the monthly target but showed a steady increase month on month in patients accessing online services provided by the practice. This meant that patients registered with the practice had the best online access in the borough.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review the times listed for the daily morning walk-in clinic to ensure they are accurately reflected in the practice leaflet.

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 Beechwood Medical Centre on 9 February 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing well-led, caring, safe, effective and responsive services. It was also good for providing services for the care provided to older people, people with long term conditions, families, children and young people, working age people (including those recently retired and students), people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable and people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

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.
• 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.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and that they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• 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.

There were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

Importantly the provider should:

• Ensure all significant events, including clinical events are recorded and monitored through the significant events procedure.
• Undertake an infection control audit.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice