We carried out a review of the data available to us about Beehive Surgery 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 Beehive Surgery, you can give feedback on this service.
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Beehive Surgery on 1 February 2019 as part of our inspection programme. The previous inspection had been in February 2018 where the practice was rated good in all domains.
We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service is on a combination of:
We have rated this practice as good overall.
We rated the practice as outstanding for providing responsive services because:
We also rated the practice as good for providing safe and effective, caring and well-led services because:
We saw several areas of outstanding practice including:
Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice
This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection June 2017 – Inadequate).
The key questions are rated as:
Are services safe? – Good
Are services effective? – Good
Are services caring? – Good
Are services responsive? – Good
Are services well-led? - Good
As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:
Older People – Good
People with long-term conditions – Good
Families, children and young people – Good
Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good
People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good
People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good
Significant imporvements had been made since our first inspection on 15 June 2017. At that inspection the practice was rated inadequate and placed into special measures. Warning notices were issued in relation to regulatory breaches of Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment) and Regulation 17 (Good governance). We carried out a further inspection on 3 November 2017 to check the warning notices had been complied with. We found significant improvements in both these areas. These reports can be viewed by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Beehive Surgery on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
The practice had carried out a full review of their processes since June 2017 and engaged with the clinical commissioning group (CCG) and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) with a view to embedding their new processes. There had been changes in personnel and the current personnel had been involved in making the improvements.
This announced comprehensive inspection at Beehive Surgery was carried out on 28 February 2018. This was a full follow-up inspection to check the required improvements had been made throughout the practice.
At this inspection we found:
Significant improvements had been made throughout the practice. There had been some personnel changes and all remaining and newly recruited staff had been involved in discussions around the improvements required.
Following the inspection on the 15 June 2017 the practice enrolled in the Royal Collage of General Practitioners (RCGP) special measures peer support programme. The programme involves a six month support package, working closely with the practice’s clinicians and senior staff to develop improvement solutions, provide peer support and in depth reviews and solutions for services.
The practice had improved their process for recognising, recording and investigating significant events. They were discussed in meetings and learning was documented.
The practice had systems in place to manage all aspects of safety. A fire risk assessment had been carried out, regular checks were performed and recorded and new fire extinguishers had been installed.
Training for staff was well-monitored. There was a role-specific induction process for staff, including locum staff. Appraisals were up to date.
The practice had carried out training in consent, the Gillick competence and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. It had updated its website so it no longer stated patients under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
The complaints system had been reviewed. All complaints were investigated and appropriately responded to. They were discussed in meetings and lessons learned were documented.
The practice had addressed issues around waiting times in the surgery. There was a break in appointments each hour in case surgeries were running late, and patients had commented that they had noticed an improvement.
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 strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
We saw an area of outstanding practice:
Patients at the practice participated in monthly health walks from the practice led by the health trainer who was employed by the clinical commissioning group (CCG). To maximise the impact for patients, particularly female patients, the practice facilitated weekly patient led health walks. The practice displayed the walking route in the waiting area, and indicated where patients could join the walk if a different starting point was easier. The GPs encouraged the activity with their patients to promote healthier lifestyles.
I am taking this service out of special measures. This recognises the significant improvements made to the quality of care provided by this service.
Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Beehive Surgery on 15 June 2017. The overall rating for the practice was inadequate. The full comprehensive report on the June 2017 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Beehive Surgery on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
The inspection of 15 June 2017 resulted in a warning notice being issued against the provider.
On 22 August 2017 we issued a warning notice to the provider in relation to a breach of Regulation 17 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, Good governance. We required the practice to become compliant with Regulation 12 by 31 October 2017.
The rating awarded to the practice following our full comprehensive inspection on 15 June 2017 remains unchanged. The practice will be re-inspected in relation to their rating within six months of the report being published from the June 2017 inspection.
This inspection was an announced focused inspection carried out on 3 November 2017 to confirm that the practice had met the requirements of the warning notice.
At this inspection we found that all aspects of the warning notice had been met.
Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Beehive Surgery on 15 June 2017. Overall the practice is rated as inadequate.
Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:
Patients were at risk of harm because systems and processes were not in place to keep them safe. For example, the practice had carried out a fire risk assessment that had failed to identify serious failures, such as there were no in-date fire extinguishers on the premises.
The practice had no clear leadership within the practice. For example, the GP partners had a dysfunctional relationship and issues that had been identified around the daily working arrangements lacked structure.
Children and young people were not always treated in an age-appropriate way and recognised as individuals.
Incident reporting was inconsistent, and we saw evidence of a significant event that had not been recorded. Discussion around significant events was not recorded and learning outcomes were not reviewed.
Patients were usually positive about their interactions with staff and said they were treated with compassion and dignity.
Although patients were able to access appointments they told us there were long waiting times at the practice.
The areas where the provider must make improvements are:
Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.
Ensure that any complaint received is investigated and any proportionate action is taken in response to any failure identified by the complaint or investigation.
Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.
I am placing this service in special measures. Services placed in special measures will be inspected again within six months. If insufficient improvements have been made such that there remains a rating of inadequate for any population group, key question or overall, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures to begin the process of preventing the provider from operating the service. This will lead to cancelling their registration or to varying the terms of their registration within six months if they do not improve.
The service will be kept under review and if needed could be escalated to urgent enforcement action. Where necessary, another inspection will be conducted within a further six months, and if there is not enough improvement we will move to close the service by adopting our proposal to remove this location or cancel the provider’s registration.
Special measures will give people who use the service the reassurance that the care they get should improve.
Chief Inspector of General Practice