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Archived: Heath Hill Surgery

Overall: Inadequate read more about inspection ratings

54 Heath Hill Road South, Crowthorne, Berkshire, RG45 7BN (01344) 777915

Provided and run by:
Dr Sangita Judge

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 26 November 2018

Heath Hill Surgery is located in a purpose-built building in Crowthorne, Berkshire. Services are provided by Dr Sangita Judge as a sole provider GP. The practice is part of East Berkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

The practice provides General Medical Services to 6,596 patients in the Bracknell and Crowthorne area of Berkshire. Deprivation is low locally with some areas of high deprivation within the practice boundary. There is a predominantly white British population with approximately 7% of patients deriving from black or other minority backgrounds.

There is a lead GP who is the sole provider (female, whole time equivalent (WTE) of 0.8) and four salaried GPs (two female, two male, WTE 1.65). In addition, the practice has a long-term locum GP (male, WTE 0.6). The nursing team has two nurse practitioners (both female, WTE 1.62), two practice nurses (both female, WTE 1.27) and two health care assistants (both female, WTE 1.3). Day to day practice operational management is led by an interim practice manager (currently working 2-3 days per week) and a deputy practice manager who is supported by a number of administration and secretarial staff and eight receptionists.

The practice provides the following regulated activities:

  • Diagnostic and screening procedures
  • Family planning
  • Maternity and midwifery services
  • Surgical procedures
  • Treatment of disease, disorder or injury

All regulated activities and services are provided from:

Heath Hill Surgery

54 Heath Hill Road

South Crowthorne

Berkshire

RG45 7BN

Patients can access online services and view practice information on the practice website: www.heathhillsurgery.co.uk

The practice does not provide Out of Hours services to their patients. These services have been commissioned by East Berkshire CCG to another provider which can be accessed by calling the NHS 111 telephone line.

In addition, the practice is a member of a local federation of Bracknell and Ascot GPs, which offers an extended hours service to all patients registered with a Bracknell or Ascot GP practice.

Overall inspection

Inadequate

Updated 26 November 2018

This practice is rated as inadequate overall.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Inadequate

Are services effective? – Requires improvement

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Requires improvement

Are services well-led? - Inadequate

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Heath Hill Surgery on 17 July 2018. This inspection was undertaken as the provider had changed in June 2017 and had registered as a new entity with the Care Quality Commission in April 2018.

At this inspection we found:

  • The practice had recruited additional GPs and staff to improve patient access.
  • The practice did not have clear systems to manage or identify risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen.
  • Not all significant events or incidents were identified or reported according to practice policy. However, when incidents were identified, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
  • The practice delivered care and treatment according to evidence- based guidelines.
  • Quality improvement activity was not taking place and clinical audits had not been undertaken since the provider took over management responsibility for the service.
  • Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
  • Patients offered mixed feedback about the appointment system and access to care.
  • Complaints were not always responded to in line with guidance.
  • Leadership and management was not effective and governance arrangements were inconsistently applied.
  • There was a focus on implementing improvement activity at all levels of the organisation. The practice had been through a period of organisational change and instability in the preceding two years and had commenced planning and implementing future improvements.

The areas where the provider must make improvements as they are in breach of regulations are:

  • Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.
  • Ensure persons employed in the provision of the regulated activity receive the appropriate support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal necessary to enable them to carry out the duties.
  • Ensure recruitment procedures are established and operated effectively to ensure only fit and proper persons are employed.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

  • Review infection control audit outcomes and identify areas that require action.

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.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice