• Doctor
  • GP practice

Belvedere Medical Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

15 Albert Road, Belvedere, Kent, DA17 5LQ (01322) 446700

Provided and run by:
Belvedere Medical Centre

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

We carried out a review of the data available to us about Belvedere Medical Centre on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.

This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.

If you have concerns about Belvedere Medical Centre, you can give feedback on this service.

10 February 2020

During a routine inspection

At the last inspection on 17 September 2015 the practice was rated as good for each of the key questions and was rated as good overall.

We carried out this inspection at Belvedere Medical Centre following our annual review of the information available to us including information provided by the practice. Our review indicated that there may have been a significant change to the quality of care provided since the last inspection.

This inspection looked at the following key questions Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-Led.

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.

We rated the practice as good for providing safe services because:

  • The practice did not always have clear systems and processes to keep patients safe.
  • The practice had systems in place to manage significant events and medicines and safety alerts. However, there was limited evidence of what they did to monitor the implementation of medicines and safety alerts. There was limited evidence that actions were recorded on the safety alert monitoring log.
  • The practice had appropriate systems in place for the safe management of medicines.
  • The practice learned and made improvements when things went wrong.

We rated the practice as good for providing effective services because:

  • Care and treatment of patients was appropriate and met their needs and preferences.
  • Childhood immunisation uptake rates were below the World Health Organisation (WHO) targets. Uptake rates for the vaccines given were below the minimum 90% target for three of four childhood immunisation uptake indicators. Following our inspection, the practice sent us 2019/20 CHIS performance figures for three of the four childhood immunisation uptake indicators published by Public Health England (PHE). The practice had achieved the minimum target in all three areas (for two-year olds).
  • There was evidence of improvements made through quality improvement The practice monitored the outcomes of care and treatment.
  • The practice was able to show that staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles.
  • The practice was able to show that it always obtained consent to care and treatment.
  • Some performance data was significantly below local and national averages. For example, performance indicators for mental health patients showed care and treatment had not always ensured their needs were met. Following our inspection, the practice sent us their QOF report for Mental Health which showed performance from April 2019 to January 2020 had improved.

At this inspection we inspected all six population groups. We rated all population groups as good in effective.

We rated the practice as good for providing caring and responsive services because:

  • 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 practice monitored patient satisfaction and they had identified themes in patient feedback. The practice had worked with the PPG to conduct a patient survey which was completed in October 2019.

We rated the practice as good for providing well-led services because:

  • Leaders could show they had the capacity and skills to deliver high quality, sustainable care. Leaders had worked hard to stabilise the practice following the closure of a local practice and the influx of around 6,600 new patients.
  • The practice had a clear vision, which was supported by a credible strategy.
  • The practice culture supported high quality sustainable care.
  • The overall governance arrangements were effective.
  • The practice had clear processes for managing risks, issues and performance. However, risks management in relation to patient safety required improvement.
  • We saw evidence of systems and processes for learning, continuous improvement and innovation.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

  • Continue to improve uptake of childhood immunisations and cervical screening.

  • Review the staff vaccination policy to ensure it is maintained in line with current Public Health England (PHE) guidance.

  • Continue to monitor patient satisfaction with telephone access, and take further action if necessary.
  • Continue to ensure policies and procedures are followed; for example the safety alert protocol.
  • Continue to monitor the number of carers on the register.

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

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care

17 September 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Belvedere Medical Centre on 17 September 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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 they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
  • 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.
  • The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
  • Most risks to patients were assessed and well managed, apart from those relating to medical emergencies and Legionella.

We saw some areas of outstanding practice:

  • The practice had developed an innovative staffing model for providing patient care. The practice had a very good skill mix, which included advanced nurse practitioners (ANPs), a ‘non-medical prescriber’ practice nurse, a pharmacist and a primary care assistant practitioner (PCAP). They were all able to see a broad range of patients so that the clinical workload was successfully shared across the team. The feedback from patients indicated a high level of satisfaction with this model of care; patients had good access to the practitioner of their choice.
  • There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. Staff were empowered to make suggestions and implement changes to improve the quality of the service. For example, one of the practice nurses had identified chlamydia testing as an area for improvement and taken successful actions leading to improved detection rates. This had led to an improved rate of chlamydia testing and one of the highest levels of chlamydia detection rates for the practice population as evidenced by recent figures provided by clinical commissioning group (CCG).

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

Importantly the provider should:

  • Ensure that actions resulting from the Legionella risk assessment are implemented, so risks are managed appropriately.
  • Continue to review arrangements for responding to medical emergencies to ensure that the equipment is immediately available for use, staff are aware of its location and are trained to use it.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice