Belmont & Sherburn Medical Group

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection June 2016 – Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Requires Improvement

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

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Belmont & Sherburn Medical Group on 19 January 2018 as part our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear systems to keep patients safe and safeguarded from abuse.
• The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care they provided. They ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
• Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) for 2016/17 showed the practice had achieved 100% of the points available to them for providing recommended treatments for the most commonly found clinical conditions.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. They took account of patient needs and preferences.
• Patients were able to access care and treatment from the practice within an acceptable timescale for their needs.
• However, results from the July 2017 annual National GP Patient Survey showed that patients’ satisfaction with how they could access care and treatment was well below local and national averages. The practice had had carried out extensive work to understand the reasons for this and had made improvements. Various changes to the appointments system had been trialled; there was an ongoing audit and review of clinicians’ rotas.
• There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation. The practice proactively used performance information to drive improvement.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Take action to improvement medicines management arrangements: ensure that staff know what to do if the medicines refrigerator temperatures are higher than recommended levels, review the dispensary’s Standard Operating Procedures to ensure they are fit for purpose and reflect current best practice guideline and implement systems to monitor the quality of the dispensing service
• Carry out fire evacuation drills at each surgery.
• Continue to review patient satisfaction and make improvements in relation to access and the wider patient experience.
• Inform patients who have complained that if they remain unhappy with the practice’s response they could contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
• Provide chaperone and Mental Capacity Act training for all relevant staff.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice