Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

Hendford Lodge Medical Centre was inspected on Tuesday 11 November 2014. This was a comprehensive inspection.

Hendford Lodge Medical Centre provides primary medical services to people living in the town of Yeovil, Somerset. The practice provides services to a mixed population group and is situated near the town centre.

Hendford Lodge Medical Centre also has a branch in Abbey Manor, Yeovil. The two practices were run by the same management group and owned by the same company Diamond Health Care.

At the time of our inspection there were 11,639 patients registered at Hendford Lodge with a team of 10 GPs, two trainee GPs, a practice manager, seven nurses, six health care assistants and approximately 24 administrative staff. GP partners held managerial and financial responsibility for running the business.

Patients who use the practice have access to community staff including district nurses, community psychiatric nurses, health visitors, physiotherapists, mental health staff, counsellors, chiropodist and midwives. The practice also runs specialist orthopaedic services and a leg ulcer service.

We rated this practice as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

Patient feedback about care and treatment was positive. The practice had a patient centred culture. Practice staff were well trained and experienced. Staff provided compassionate care to their patients. External stakeholders were positive about the practice.

Hendford Lodge Medical Centre was well organised, clean and tidy. The practice had well maintained facilities and was well equipped to treat patients. There were effective infection control procedures in place. Patients experienced relatively easy access to appointments at the practice. Patients had a named GP which improved their continuity of care.

The practice had a clear leadership structure in place and was well led. Systems were in place to monitor quality of care and to identify risk and manage emergencies.

Patients’ needs were assessed and care planned and delivered in line with current legislation. This includes assessment of the patient’s capacity to make informed choices about their care and treatment, and the promotion of good health.

Recruitment, pre-employment checks, induction and appraisal processes were robust. Staff had received appropriate training for their roles and additional training needs had been identified and planned.

Information about the practice provided evidence that the practice performed comparatively with other practices within the clinical commissioning group (CCG) area.

Patients told us that they felt safe with the practice staff and confident in clinical decisions made. There were safeguarding procedures in place. Significant events, complaints and incidents were investigated. Improvements made following these events had been discussed and communicated with staff.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice