The Brooke Surgery

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

We looked for evidence that staff involved people in decisions about their care and treatment and provided them advice and support. Staff regularly reviewed people’s care and worked with other services to achieve this.

At our last assessment, we rated this key question as Good. At this assessment, the rating remains the same.

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’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

Feedback received directly to CQC from people using the service with regards to having their needs assessed was positive. People felt involved in assessments of their needs and felt confident that staff understood their individual and cultural needs.

Reception staff were aware of the needs of the local community. Reception staff used digital flags within the care records system to highlight any specific individual needs, such as the requirement for longer appointments or for a translator to be present. Staff checked people’s health, care, and wellbeing needs during health reviews. Patients with complex health needs were given extended appointment times and the opportunity to bring an advocate in with them for any appointments.

Clinical staff used templates when conducting care reviews to support the review of people’s wider health and wellbeing. The provider had effective systems to identify people with previously undiagnosed conditions. Staff could refer people with social needs, such as those experiencing social isolation or housing difficulties, to a social prescriber.

The service always planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation. They worked to develop evidence-based good practice and standards.

There were comprehensive, effective and inclusive approaches to monitor and improve people’s care and treatment. Systems were in place to ensure staff were up to date with evidence-based guidance and legislation. All clinical records we saw demonstrated that all clinical decision making was tied to national guidelines and all patients that required regular monitoring had received such monitoring as required.

The service paid for and led on a Point of Care Testing and Blood Diagnostics bus over an 8-day period. This service identified 25 patients as having high cholesterol. High cholesterol can cause heart problems and increases the risk of stroke. Treatment for this condition is to start patients as soon as possible on statin therapy treatment. These 25 patients were immediately started on appropriate statin therapy treatment, following rapid risk assessment and in line with current national guidelines.

The service worked well across teams and services to support people. They shared thorough assessments of people’s needs when they moved between different services, so people only needed to tell their story once.

Staff had access to the information they needed to appropriately assess, plan, and deliver people’s care, treatment, and support. The practice worked with other services to ensure continuity of care, including where clinical tasks were delegated to other services.

The provider used secure channels to communicate both internally and externally. This allowed internally for communication between different staff groups to ask questions and resolve patient treatment plans and queries quickly and allowed an open culture to be fostered. This was useful when clinical staff required further clinical support with complex cases or when patients were triaged and patients required urgent clinical review. It also allowed the clinician to raise questions with Patient Care Specialists (PCS) with regards to blood results or prescription queries whilst they continued to treat patients.

The provider had an open channel with a local pharmacy which allowed prescription queries to be handled and processed quickly. This was effective during recent times when there had been unavailability with certain medications and a quick response required to use an alternative if available. This allowed for seamless patient care and reduced waiting times for patients. The practice was the second highest referrer to the Pharmacy First scheme in Greater Manchester. This resulted in both positive feedback from patients and additional capacity within the practice. The provider shared learning with other practices and had received national recognition for this work.

The service always supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to fully maximise their independence, choice and control. The service supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.

Staff focussed on identifying risks to patients’ health, including those in the last 12 months of their lives, patients at risk of developing a long-term condition and those with caring responsibilities. Staff supported national priorities and initiatives to improve population health, including stopping smoking and tackling obesity.

The service promoted ‘Menopause Your Way’ within the waiting area at Brooke Surgery. This is a community led initiative and is free for all service users. These are support groups with the focus being on Lifestyle, Eating and Drinking and there are hubs where individuals who are peri-menopausal, menopausal and post-menopausal can meet and share experiences.

The provider had launched videos on to its dedicated YouTube channel. Various subjects were recorded and loaded to the channel. Subjects varied from how improve sleep, how to spot Sexually Transmitted Diseases and how to prevent them and treat them. Other videos were of a self-help nature.

The service monitored all people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they fully met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

The latest data available to CQC showed us that the practice had not met all national targets for screening and immunisations. The practice had not met the targets for childhood immunisations or cervical screening for period 01/04/2024 to 31/03/2025. Unverified data seen during the assessment, suggested they were making improvements, but were still not meeting national targets.

From the clinical notes we reviewed, we found that people who used the service experienced positive outcomes as set out in legislation, standards, and evidence-based clinical guidance.

The service told people their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

Staff undertook relevant training and understood legislation relating to consent and applied it in their individual roles. Capacity and consent were clearly recorded.

Decisions being made about Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) were discussed with patients and families and decisions recorded on to clinical records.

Of people who responded to the GP patient survey, 91.9% said that they had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw during their last appointment. This compares to the national average of 92.5%.