• Doctor
  • GP practice

Bridgnorth Medical Practice

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Northgate Health Centre, Northgate, Bridgnorth, Shropshire, WV16 4EN (01746) 767121

Provided and run by:
Bridgnorth Medical Practice

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 23 December 2019

Bridgnorth Medical Practice is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as a partnership provider and holds a General Medical Services (GMS) contract with NHS England. A GMS contract is a contract between NHS England and general practices for delivering general medical services and is the commonest form of GP contract. The practice is part of the NHS Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

The practice is located within a two-storey purpose built health centre in Bridgnorth town in Shropshire. The practice treats patients of all ages and provides a range of general medical services and delivers regulated activities solely from this practice. Car parking is available locally.

At the time of the inspection there were 16,287 patients registered at the practice. The practice local area is one of less deprivation when compared with the local and national averages. The area has similar outcomes to the local and national averages in the area profile data from Public Health England. The data compares outcomes living in the area including life expectancy and deprivation. The practice has a higher percentage of registered patients with a long-standing health condition, meaning more demand for services. The practice unemployment levels are lower than local and national averages. The practice population is predominantly white (98.6%). The practice is a teaching practice for GP Registrars and medical students to gain experience in general practice and family medicine.

The practice staffing comprises of:

  • Ten GPs - Eight partners and two salaried (8.1 whole time equivalent)
  • Three registrars and one medical student
  • Four full-time urgent care practitioners
  • Five part-time and one full-time practice nurses to include four nurse prescribers
  • Five part-time health care assistants
  • One part-time practice pharmacist
  • A part-time business manager, a full-time practice manager and a part-time administration manager
  • A team of 34 IT, administrative and reception staff to include three secretaries
  • One-part time community and care co-ordinator– funded by the CCG.

Opening hours are between 8:30am - 6:00pm Monday to Friday. Extended opening hours are provided on a Tuesday and Wednesday evening between 6.30pm and 8pm. The practice is a member of the South Shropshire Medical Group (SSMG). The group is made up of doctors, nurses and health care assistants working collaboratively to bring more flexible evening and Saturday morning appointments to patients. When the practice is closed patients are directed to call NHS 111 service. Routine appointments can be booked in person, by telephone or on-line. Home visits are triaged by a clinician to assess whether a home visit is clinically necessary and the urgency for medical attention.

The provider is registered to provide the following regulated activities: Diagnostic and screening procedures, family planning, maternity and midwifery, surgical procedures and treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

Additional information about the practice is available on their website: www.bridgnorthmedicalpractice.co.uk

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 23 December 2019

We previously carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Bridgnorth Medical Practice on 7 November 2018. The overall rating for the practice was good with requires improvement for providing a well-led service. The full comprehensive report on the November 2018 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Bridgnorth Medical Practice on our website at .

We carried out an announced inspection on 26 November 2019 to follow up on areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection and found improvements had been made in providing a well-led service.

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 and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as Good in providing a well-led service and Good overall.

At this inspection we found:

  • The provider had assessed, monitored and mitigated the risks relating to the health, safety and welfare of patients and others.
  • Staff had received essential training and an appraisal of their work.
  • Health and safety risk assessments had been undertaken.
  • Fire drills had been implemented.
  • An infection control audit had been completed and compliance between audit cycles implemented.
  • Additional oxygen cyclinders had been obtained and processes implemented to ensure levels were monitored.
  • The security and number of prescription pads held at the practice had been reviewed.
  • A patient participation group (PPG) had been established to represent the needs of the patients.
  • An action plan had been developed in response to the national GP patient survey and an independent survey to include actions to address the lower than average results regarding access to the service.
  • Actions had been taken to mitigate the risk of fridges containing vaccines being turned off.
  • The safeguarding policy had been updated with separate polices to reflect current guidance and these were available for all staff to access.
  • Changes had been made to the leadership team and governance arrangements strengthened.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGPChief Inspector of General Practice

Please refer to the detailed report and the evidence tables for further information.