Meadows Surgery

Background to this inspection

Updated 1 August 2017

Meadows Surgery is located in a purpose built premises in the North West of Burgess Hill. The practice provides medical services to approximately 9,600 patients. The practice also provides care and treatment for the residents of nearby care homes, which serves individuals with mental and physical care needs, including dementia.

There are four GP partners and three salaried GPs (three male, four female). Collectively they cover 46 sessions, which is the equivalent of approximately five full time GPs. The practice is registered as a GP training practice, supporting medical students and providing training opportunities for doctors seeking to become fully qualified GPs.

There are six female members of the nursing team; four practice nurses and two health care assistants/phlebotomists. GPs and nurses are supported by the practice manager, a care coordinator and a team of reception/administration staff.

Data available to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) shows the practice is located in an area that is considered to be in the least deprived decile nationally. The number of registered patients suffering income deprivation is much lower than the national average. People living in more deprived areas tend to have greater need for health services.

The practice is open from 8:30am to 6pm Monday to Friday. A telephone service is provided between 8am and 6:30pm Monday to Friday, outside of these hours the practice is serviced by an out of hours service. Extended hours appointments are offered from 7:20am on Tuesday mornings.

Appointments can be booked over the telephone, online or in person at the surgery. Patients are provided information on how to access the out of hours service by calling the surgery or viewing the practice website.

The practice offers a number of services for its patients including; family planning, minor surgery, hypertension clinics, smoking cessation, and travel vaccines (including yellow fever).

The practice has a General Medical Services (GMS) contract with NHS England. (GMS is one of the three contracting routes that have been available to enable commissioning of primary medical services). The practice is part of the NHS Horsham and Mid Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group.

The practice delivers it service at the following address:

Temple Grove,

Burgess Hill,

West Sussex

RH15 9XN

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 1 August 2017

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Meadows Surgery on 2 August 2016. Overall the practice is rated as requires improvement. The full comprehensive report on the 2 August 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Meadows Surgery on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This inspection was an announced focused inspection carried out on 18 July 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulations that we identified in our previous inspection on 2 August 2016. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also additional improvements made since our last inspection.

We have amended the rating for this practice to reflect these changes. The practice is now rated good for the provision of safe, effective and well led services. Overall the practice is now rated as good. All six population groups have also been re-rated following these improvements and are also rated as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

The practice had reviewed all their documents, policies and processes used to govern activity to ensure they were practice specific and up to date.
The practice had reviewed and improved the arrangements they had in place for the management of infection control and for the assessment, monitoring and minimising of associated risks. This included the monitoring of actions from infection control audits and ensuring they were addressed, and that all cleaning of clinical equipment was recorded.
The practice had reviewed it’s systems for the monitoring of staff training and had ensured all staff had received appropriate training to their role including infection prevention control and information governance.
Clinical staff were involved in the assessment, monitoring and improvement of the quality and safety of the services being provided.
The outcome of patient’s mental capacity to consent to care or treatment was clearly recorded when this had been assessed by a GP or nurse.
The practice had made improvements to the recording of complaints to enhance efficiency and the management of the process.

The practice had improved the way they identified the patients who were also carers which had led to an increase in the number of patients registered as carers on the practice’s list. At the previous inspection, the practice had identified 84 (less than 1% of the practice list) patients as carers. At this inspection we found that the number of patients identified as carers had increased to 145 (approximately 1.5% of the practice’s list).

The practice had arrangements to provide regular communication and updates to all staff and this had been reviewed to ensure it benefited part time staff.

We have changed the rating for this practice to reflect these changes. The practice is now rated good for the provision of safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led services.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)

Chief Inspector of General Practice