Branch End Surgery

Updated 28 November 2019

Branch End Surgery is located in the Stocksfield area of Northumberland and provides care and treatment to patients living in Stocksfield and the surrounding areas. The practice is collaborating with other local practices, to set up a local primary care network. The surgery is also a training and teaching practice.

The provider is registered with CQC to deliver the following regulated activities: diagnostic and screening procedures; maternity and midwifery services; family planning; treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

Branch End Surgery is part of the Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and provides services to 5423 patients under the terms of a personal medical services (PMS) contract. This is a contract between general practices and NHS England for delivering services to the local community.

The practice employs the following staff:

• Three GP partners (two male and one female).
• Two salaried GPs (one male and one female).
• Two practice nurses (female).
• A healthcare assistant (female).
• A practice manager.
• A reception/medicines manager.

The National General Practice Profile for the practice states that 98.7% of the practice population is from a white background. 1.3% of patients are from non-white ethnic groups. Information published by Public Health England rates the level of deprivation within the practice population group as ten. Level one represents the highest levels of deprivation and level ten the lowest. The practice has fewer patients under 18 years of age, and more patients over 65 years of age, than the England averages.

Updated 28 November 2019

We decided to undertake an inspection of this service following our annual review of the information available to us. This inspection looked at the following key questions:

• Effective.
• Well led.

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

• what we found when we inspected.
• information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services; and
• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

Following our last inspection, in June 2016, we asked the provider to review their arrangements for recording and monitoring staff infection control training. During this inspection we found the provider had addressed this.

At this inspection we have rated this practice as good overall, and good for the effective and well led key questions.

We found that:

• The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs. The practice had the second highest screening rates for bowel and breast screening, within the local clinical commissioning group. They had also performed very well against the national averages. The practice’s childhood immunisation uptake rates were also very good.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.
• Leaders had a very good understanding of the issues and challenges they faced in developing the practice further, and they had a strong strategy and improvement plan in place to help them do this.
• There was evidence of strong systems and processes for learning, continuous improvement and innovation. Leaders had just introduced a new quality assurance committee system, to help them: address areas of variation in quality; respond to and manage risk; identify areas where further improvements could be made.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

• Review the frequency at which all staff receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation training, to bring it into line with guidance issued by the Resuscitation Council (UK).
• Make arrangements for the practice nurses to complete Level 3 safeguarding training, as set out in the Intercollegiate Document, ‘Safeguarding Children and Young People: Roles and Competencies for Healthcare staff’ (January 2019). Also, the provider should review their child safeguarding policy to take account of this guidance, as well as other recent national guidance.
• Review the practice’s whistle-blowing policy, to make sure it complies with the NHS Improvement Raising Concerns (Whistleblowing) Policy.
• Continue to take action to develop an active patient participation group.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence table.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care

Updated 28 November 2019

Updated 28 November 2019

Updated 28 November 2019

Updated 28 November 2019

Updated 28 November 2019

Updated 28 November 2019