Brune Medical Centre

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive - We looked for evidence that the service met people’s needs through good organisation and delivery.

At our last assessment, we rated his key question as Good. At this assessment the rating has remained Good.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

People could share their experience of the service via Friends and Family Test (FFT) survey. We reviewed patient feedback and found consistent positive themes relating to co-ordinated person-centred care and clinicians listened to people and provided good quality care and treatment. Both clinical and administrative staff were described as professional and friendly.

Staff told us that there was a person-centred approach to delivering care and the service provided care in a way that was inclusive to improve accessibility to vulnerable patient groups. We saw evidence of patient feedback being collated and reviewed monthly with improvements to service provision where needed.

Staff demonstrated awareness of how the practice considered patient preferences and how these were taken into consideration when co-ordinating care. Where appropriate, staff included carers and dependants in the planning of care and shared decision making about their treatment.

Reasonable adjustments were made at the practice to support communication, including the use of interpreters. Leaflets were available in the reception area and posters were displayed to provide patients with information on the practice and the different services available to them. Patients were also provided with information on how to access their medical records.

A private room was available if patients were distressed or wanted to discuss sensitive issues. There were arrangements to ensure confidentiality at the reception desk and during telephone calls.

We did not look at Care provision, Integration and continuity during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Providing Information during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

The service made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. They involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

People reported having confidence and trust in their health professional from the feedback sources we reviewed. Information was displayed on the surgery website and in premises to support people to share feedback and any concerns or complaints.

Staff encouraged patients to share their experiences of the service and supported them to raise concerns. We found that feedback and complaints were investigated and resolved in a timely manner. Staff were able to provide examples of learning of how practice had improved form people’s experiences. Staff demonstrated awareness of the practice complaints process and how to assist patients with any concerns they had. Staff told us how learning from complaints was used as an opportunity for improvement.

There were effective systems and processes in place to capture the views of people, including complaints and incidents. Patients were proactively invited to share their experiences; we saw evidence of patient feedback themes that had been reviewed by the practice within the last 12 months. The practice valued peoples feedback and used it to inform how they introduced and reassessed changes. Staff were encouraged to attend management meetings where they reflected on learning from complaints, concerns and general feedback.

During our assessment, we reviewed a sample of complaints and we found these were investigated and responded to appropriately in line with practice policy. Where appropriate, patients were provided with an apology and signposted to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. There were also quarterly reviews of complaints which looked at themes, learning points, changes made and other planned actions.

The service made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it. Patient’s accessibility and communication needs were recorded. Staff were trained in the care navigation process to ensure patients were directed to the most appropriate part of the service. Staff had access to the future care planning templates on the practice clinical records system which incorporated checks for patient’s wishes, mental capacity and any treatment escalation planning.

The service made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it. Patient’s accessibility and communication needs were recorded. Staff were trained in the care navigation process to ensure patients were directed to the most appropriate part of the service. Staff had access to the future care planning templates on the practice clinical records system which incorporated checks for patient’s wishes, mental capacity and any treatment escalation planning.

The practice’s national GP patients survey results from 2024 showed at times people found it difficult to contact the practice via telephone and online, with the practice scoring lower than local and national averages.

Leaders demonstrated they were aware of the challenges to patient access and had acted to improve patient access. We saw evidence of audits completed in relation to access performance, such as appointment capacity and demand data, appointment waiting times and patient ‘Did Not Attend’ (DNA) rates per GP to assess performance. This also helped provide oversight to rota management and staffing arrangements to meet access demand. The practice had also reviewed audits of telephone access data which included the total number of inbound calls daily; queue waiting times and call abandonments. We identified documented actions that had been taken to improve access to services such as additional administrative cover during increased demand and adjusting patient communication on the telephone queue system during busy periods.

Staff told us that there were opportunities to raise service improvements and actions had been taken as a result improve patient pathways and access. For example, the practice had implemented a new clinical triage model for patients to access services. Patients were assigned to different ‘Continuity Care Teams’ (CCT) based on risk rated health criterion to improve appointment access and enhance co-ordination of care. CCT’s consisted of a range of clinical staff from GP’s, Advance Nurse Practitioners (ANPs), Paramedics, Pharmacist technicians, Nurse Practitioners and Health Care Assistants (HCAs). The practice had systems and processes to review online triage requests, to streamline patients to designated clinical teams so that people could receive care and treatment by the right person at the right time.

Feedback from staff demonstrated people in vulnerable circumstances were easily able to register with the practice and offered further support where required, including carers, people with learning disabilities and those with no fixed abode such as homeless people and Travellers. Staff told us they had completed relevant awareness training in supporting people with learning disabilities, autism, dementia and care navigation.

Appointments were available online, face to face, telephone, or as a home visit. Patients could book appointments by telephone, online, walking-in and could also submit medical or admin requests online via the practice website. The practice offered extended access arrangements outside of normal working hours provided by a GP and a nurse practitioner on Saturday mornings and weekday evenings through the Primary Care Network (PCN). The practice had utilised PCN resources to provide a co-ordinated package of care, such as mental health practitioners, first contact physiotherapists and pharmacy technicians.

The service had participated in a Reasonable Adjustments pilot which involved staff undertaking training in this area and increased the coding of patients who require reasonable adjustments.

The service supported those with no fixed-abode through a commissioned service to provide a weekly clinic in the community. People can access this clinic to receive physical and mental health checks, vaccinations and support individuals to become registered with a GP service.

The service has also undertaken partnership working with Hampshire Autism and Autek, who produced videos to support access to the practice.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

Feedback from the Patient Participation Group (PPG) highlighted they were listened to, valued and had seen positive changes to improve patient experiences. For example, the practice had reviewed local care pathways including resources within the Primary Care Network (PCN).

Staff told us they considered how they tailored care, support and treatment to individual needs. Staff told us that if families had experienced a bereavement, the practice contacted them and an appointment was offered to discuss any further needs. Families were signposted to relevant support groups, such as the practice mental health support workers and social prescribers.

The practice had met the accessible information standard to ensure all people, including those with communication needs could receive effective care and treatment. The practice was able to demonstrate reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010. The premises had a portable hearing loop in place for patients with hard of hearing. Accessible communication formats such as large print materials and in easy read formats were available when required. Interpretation services were available. The practice held a register of patients who were carers and offered annual health checks. We saw examples of local care initiatives to help support carers in the community.

We did not look at Planning for the future during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.