This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous rating November 2015 – Good)

The key questions at this inspection are rated as:

Are services safe? – Requires improvement

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Burnett Edgar Medical Centre on 16 November 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had 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 focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

We saw an area of outstanding practice:

• Doctors at the practice worked closely with the Integrated Care Community (ICC) to set up a community-based support group for patients with neurological conditions called Café Neuro, and a Wellness Group which used yoga, healthy eating advice, and relaxation techniques involving Virtual Reality headsets to encourage patients to lower stress levels and improve their overall wellbeing.

However, we saw some areas where the practice must make improvements:

• Ensure systems and processes are operated effectively For details, please refer to the requirement notice at the end of the report.

We also saw some areas where the practice should make improvements:

• Perform an analysis of themes from significant events to look for trends;
• Include details of safeguarding procedures in the locum pack.

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 Burnett Edgar Medical Centre on 3 November 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and a 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 the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and 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 told us they felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.

We saw some areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice was rated as outstanding for providing responsive services. The practice worked with other services and the local community to provide services which benefitted people’s needs. For example, the GP partners allowed local community groups and services to use a building adjoining the surgery free of charge to provide activities for carers and for people with dementia, as well as hosting foot care, disability advice, a community pharmacy and dietary support.

• One of the GP partners had created an evidence-based online forum called Patient Memoirs to help patients, carers and professionals. It used video clips of patients talking about their experiences to support other patients and help them cope emotionally with their conditions. For example, staff told us of a diabetic patient who was afraid of injections who was able to administer their own insulin safely after using the site for support.

However, there were some areas where the provider should make improvement:

• Ensure staff are given annual appraisals.

• Consider how to improve the privacy for patients in some consultation rooms.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice