Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Bridge House Medical Practice on 12 December 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.

• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.

• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• 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.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We spoke to six patients and they were happy with the service they received. One person said, ‘I am really pleased with all the doctors'. One of the issues for the active Patient Participation Group had been access to same day appointments and two of the patients we spoke to also mentioned this as a problem. We saw that the practice had made some changes to improve matters and they continued to monitor the situation.

We spoke with eight staff members and always heard them refer to patients in a warm and caring way. All staff were very well informed about their responsibility for child protection and those we asked were also able to explain what they would do if they were concerned about a vulnerable adult. New patients received good quality information about the practice and the wider NHS when they registered.

The premises were clean and tidy and we saw evidence that action was being taken to further improve the premises. We saw that regular meetings gave staff members an opportunity to learn from experience and there were now systems in place to monitor a range of priorities from infection control to clinical targets.