Archived: Broughton House GP Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Broughton House GP Practice on 10 December 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.

• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• 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 were not always able to make an appointment with a named GP and that there was not always continuity of care
• An urgent telephone triage service and appointments were available the same day.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.

We saw three areas of outstanding practice:

• The service had a shared care specialist drug and addiction service. The GPs and specialist nurse worked closely with other local support services and safeguarding teams to support patients’ recovery and help them to regain their independence.
• The practice had a bespoke clinical information system that assured staff had prompt access to safety alerts, clinical guidelines, information and to report incidents.
• A community fund was available to support local groups and initiatives. For example, the practice were supporting a request from the Patient Participation Group and looking to provide funding for free swimming lessons to underprivileged children. The practice held an annual raffle to raise funds for local charities.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Ensure the Duty of Candour applies to the procedure for responding to significant events.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice