We previously carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Bishop’s Close Medical Practice on 4 November 2015. Overall the practice was rated as good.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at the practice on 8 January 2019 as part of our inspection programme.

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

• what we found when we inspected
• information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as good overall and good for all population groups except for people with long term conditions which we have rated outstanding.

We have rated the population group for people with long term conditions as outstanding for effective because:

• Services for patients were holistic and tailored to meet the needs of individual people.
• Systems were monitored and demonstrated that quality outcomes for patients were consistently high.

We have rated the population group for people with long term conditions as outstanding for responsive because:

• The needs of patients were central to the planning and delivery of services for this population group.

We found that:

• The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• The practice had systems in place so that safety incidents were less likely to happen.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

• The practice participated in the Healthier and Wealthier scheme where free benefits and welfare advice was given to patients. The practice received an award from the scheme ‘Healthier and Wealthier Awards Winner for 2017-2018’. The practice achieved the greatest gain in annual income from the scheme for patients which was £125,336.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out this comprehensive inspection on 04 November 2015.

Overall, we rated this practice as good. Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing well-led, effective, caring, safe and responsive services.

Our key findings were as follows:

• The practice provided a good standard of care, led by current best practice guidelines.
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• 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 said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment. Information was provided to help patients understand the care available to them.
• The practice actively reviewed their performance in the management of long term conditions, and was proactive in offering review and screening services, such as extra checks offered to people in pre-diabetic stages.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice