Barbourne Health Centre

Updated 16 June 2022

Barbourne Health Centre is situated in Worcester, a county town of Worcestershire. Information published by Public Health England shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the seventh decile (seven of 10) with one being most deprived and 10 being least deprived. Approximately 11,225 patients are registered with the practice with an even distribution of patients across all age groups. The practice is part of the Worcester City Primary Care Network.

The provider is registered with CQC to deliver the Regulated Activities; diagnostic and screening procedures, family planning, maternity and midwifery services, treatment of disease, disorder or injury and surgical procedures.

The clinical team at the practice includes a mix of male and female GPs, comprising of a Lead GP (a single handed provider) and three salaried GPs. One of the GPs was approaching some maternity leave at the time of our inspection however the practice had successfully recruited two further salaried GPs who are due to join the practice in the summer of 2022. Within the clinical team there are also three physicians’ associates, an advanced nurse practitioner, five practice nurses, a healthcare assistant, a phlebotomist and a practice-employed pharmacist. There is a practice manager who is supported a team of staff who cover patient services, secretarial, reception and administration duties.

The practice is open for appointments between 8am and 6.30pm on all weekdays and extended hours are operational from 7am on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The practice also offers pre-bookable appointments on some evenings and Saturdays; these are based on various clinics running at the time. In addition, patients can be seen by a local clinician in the evenings or on Saturday and Sunday at locations across South Worcestershire which are facilitated through the Worcester City Primary Care Network

When the practice is closed patients are directed to the GP out of hours service which is accessed through the 111 service.

Updated 16 June 2022

We carried out an announced inspection at Barbourne Health Centre, Worcester on 25 and 26 May 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as Good.

Safe - Good

Effective – Good

Well-led – Good

Why we carried out this inspection

This inspection included a comprehensive review of information and a site visit where we inspected safe, effective and well-led care. During our inspection we looked at one area of providing responsive care: Access to the service, this was not rated, and we did not identify any concerns with regards to access to the service.

How we carried out the inspection

Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently. Therefore, as part of this inspection we completed clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system and discussed the findings with the provider. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.

The inspection also included:

• Requesting and reviewing evidence and information from the service
• A site visit
• Conducting staff interviews
• Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider

Our findings

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
• information from the service, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as Good overall

We found that:

• The practice had clear systems, practices and processes to keep people safe and safeguarded from abuse. There was evidence to support appropriate and safe use of medicines and the practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care provided.
• There was evidence of collaboration, team-working and support across all functions and a common focus on improving the quality and sustainability of care and people’s experiences.
• As part of our inspection process members of the management team described how the practice had undergone some changes and some challenges over the years. The evidence and staff feedback we gathered highlighted that the practice was moving towards a period of settling into some positive changes; this included the successful recruitment of two GPs who were due to join the practice in the summer of 2022.
• Practice leaders were experienced and demonstrated a clear understanding of practice challenges. Staff reported that leaders were visible and approachable. Feedback from both staff and patients gathered during the inspection was positive with regards to the practice team, as well as the delivery of services and patient care.

We saw an area of outstanding practice:

• We saw that the practice effectively utilised their clinical team in ways to help meet demand. Leaders were experienced and demonstrated a clear understanding of practice challenges. To tackle some of these challenges they utilised and upskilled their clinical team in ways to help meet demand. This included areas such as prescribing and minor ailment care.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

• Continue patient engagement and encouragement to attend appointments for cancer screening, specifically for cervical smear appointments and breast cancer screening.
• Formalise the current supervision arrangements across the clinical team.

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