Brampton Medical Practice is a rural dispensing practice which consists of one main surgery in Brampton and two branch surgeries at Corby Hill and Wetheral. The practice is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide the following regulated activities: treatment of disease, disorder and injury; diagnostics and screening procedures; family planning; maternity and midwifery services and surgical procedures.
We carried out an announced inspection on 6 May 2014. During the inspection we spoke with patients and staff. We also reviewed a completed comment card. Feedback from patients was mainly positive. They told us they were satisfied with the care and treatment they received. Whilst the majority of patients we spoke with expressed no concerns about getting through to the practice on the telephone, 42% said they had experienced difficulties in this area. Also, whilst some patients said they had experienced no difficulty obtaining an appointment, 71% said they had experienced problems, and 21% said they had found it problematic to obtain an appointment in advance.
Patients’ care and treatment achieved good outcomes and was seen to be based on the best available evidence. Patients were seen to be treated with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect with services organised wherever possible to meet their needs.
The way the practice was managed promoted an open and fair culture which showed a commitment to providing safe patient care, although we found patients were not always protected against the risks associated with medicines because the provider did not have appropriate arrangements in place to manage them.
There was a strong and visible leadership team with a clear vision and purpose. Governance structures were, overall, robust and there were systems in place for managing risks. The practice had made arrangements to provide care and treatment that was tailored to patients’ individual needs and circumstances. For example, steps had been taken to review unplanned admissions and readmissions into hospital for older people. Patients with long term conditions were provided with access to a regular patient care review which monitored their condition, provided them with on-going treatment and advice, and helped them to better manage their own condition. Arrangements had been made to safeguard children and vulnerable patients from abuse or harm, including the provision of training for practice staff. The main practice was open until 18:30pm each week day and on every Saturday morning, to help provide working age patients with easier access to appointments.