The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Burn Brae Medical Group

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Hexham Primary Care Centre, Corbridge Road, Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 1QJ (01434) 603627

Provided and run by:
Burn Brae Medical Group

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of Assessment: 30/09/2025 to 08/10/2025. Burn Brae Medical Group is a GP practice and delivers service to 10,332 patients under a contract held with NHS England. The National General Practice Profiles states that 97.89% of people using this service arewhite, while the remaining proportion consists of individuals from other ethnic groups.Information published by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the8thdecile (8of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population isrelativeto others. This assessment considered the demographics of the people using the service, the context the service was working within and how this impacted service delivery. Where relevant, further commentary is provided in the quality statements section of this report.

The service had a good learning culture and people could raise concerns. Managers investigated incidents thoroughly. People were protected and kept safe. Staff understood and managed risks. The facilities and equipment met the needs of people, were clean and well-maintained and any risks mitigated. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Managers made sure staff received training and regular appraisals to maintain high-quality care. Staff managed medicines well and involved people in planning any changes.

People were involved in assessments of their needs. Staff reviewed assessments taking account of people’s communication, personal and health needs. Care was based on latest evidence and good practice. Staff worked with all agencies involved in people’s care for the best outcomes and smooth transitions when moving services. Staff made sure people understood their care and treatment to enable them to give informed consent. Staff involved those important to people took decisions in people’s best interests where they did not have capacity.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity. They treated them as individuals and supported their preferences. People had choice in their care and treatment. The service supported staff wellbeing.

People were involved in decisions about their care. The service provided information people could understand. People knew how to give feedback and were confident the service took it seriously and acted on it. People could access services when they needed to, without physical or digital barriers, including out of normal hours and in an emergency. People received fair and equal care and treatment. The service worked to reduce health and care inequalities through training and feedback. People were involved in planning their care and understood options around choosing to withdraw or not receive care.

Leaders and staff had a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust. Leaders were visible, knowledgeable and supportive, helping staff develop in their roles. Staff felt supported to give feedback and were treated equally, free from bullying or harassment. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities. Managers worked with the local community to deliver the best possible care and were receptive to new ideas. There was a culture of continuous improvement with staff given time and resources to try new ideas.

30 July 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Burn Brae Medical Group on 30 July 2015. Overall the practice is rated as outstanding.

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

  • Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. All opportunities for learning from internal and external incidents were maximised.
  • The practice used innovative and proactive methods to improve patient outcomes, working with other local providers to share best practice. For example, they had a robust patient focussed approach to reviewing the health needs of patients with long term conditions.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment. Information was provided to help patients understand the care available to them.
  • The practice worked closely with other organisations and with the local community in planning how services were provided to ensure that they meet people’s needs.
  • The practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a consequence of feedback from patients and from the Patient Participation Group (PPG).
  • The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand
  • The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority. A business plan was in place, was monitored and regularly reviewed and discussed with all staff. High standards were promoted and owned by all practice staff with evidence of team working across all roles.

We saw numerous areas of outstanding practice including:

  • The practice made sure all staff had the knowledge and skills to identify and act upon safeguarding concerns. In addition to the training appropriate to their roles, the practice held an annual safeguarding training event to give the staff the opportunity to discuss different safeguarding scenarios and to ensure they were skilled and confident in safeguarding.
  • The practice was innovative and reflective of how they could improve the health outcomes for patients. This was evidenced through the active approach to clinical and other audits, and being at the forefront nationally in the care planning approach for long term conditions. The practice performed higher than local and national averages on a number of the indicators in the Quality Outcomes Framework, including those related to hypertension, mental health, dementia and diabetes mellitus.
  • The practice took patient involvement in health and well-being very seriously. They took an active approach to involving patients in monitoring and improving their health. This was evidenced in the care planning approach for patients with long-term conditions.
  • Following consultation with young people, the practice had implemented a young patient drop in service one afternoon a week, outside school hours, to encourage them to access primary health services. The practice had conducted a further survey to seek young people’s views on what barriers there were to accessing services. To help the practice plan how they could overcome these barriers. The practice developed a leaflet aimed at young people to inform and encourage them about the services offered by the practice. They had achieved accreditation in the ‘You’re Welcome’, the Department of Health ‘Quality criteria for young people friendly health services’.
  • There was strong evidence throughout the practice that team spirit and motivation was high. Of particular note was the general feeling of ‘no one is left behind’ and the emphasis on improving health outcomes for all.
  • There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels within the practice. The practice had an ethos of patient empowerment and this was evident across a number of areas, such as reviewing the health of patients with long-term conditions and engagement with young people.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice