Parkside Surgery Also known as Dr J Robertson & Partners

Updated 18 February 2016

Parkside Surgery occupies a large purpose built building on the outskirts of Burnley town centre. The building has ample car parking available, including designated disabled parking spaces. There is also a bus stop located outside the front of the building for ease of access for patients without a car. The inspection team visited the main surgery premises, but the practice also has a small branch surgery (Foxcroft, Pendle Way) offering more limited services and opening hours which was not visited as part of the inspection. Patients are able to access services at either site.

The practice is part of the NHS East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and provides services to its 9834 registered patients via a general medical services contract with NHS England. The age distribution of the practice patient population is similar to the national average, although the life expectancy is slightly lower than average being 76 years for males and 80 years for females compared to the national averages of 79 and 83 respectively. The practice has a higher proportion of patients with a long standing health condition (66.4%) than the national average of 54%.

Information published by Public Health England rates the level of deprivation within the practice population group as three on a scale of one to ten. Level one represents the highest levels of deprivation and level ten the lowest.

The service is delivered by five GP partners (three female and two male), one salaried GP (female), two nurse practitioners, two specialist nurse practitioners, a practice nurse and two health care assistants. Clinicians are supported by non-clinical staff consisting of a practice manager and 11 administration and reception staff. The practice does not currently train new GPs.

The practice is open at the main surgery between 8am and 6:30pm Monday to Friday, with appointments available between these times. Extended surgery hours are offered between 7am and 8am on each Monday morning and between 6:30pm and 7:30pm each Tuesday evening for pre-booked appointments. The Foxcroft branch surgery is open between 8am and 12 noon Monday to Friday.

When the practice is closed, patients are able to access out of hours services offered locally by the provider East Lancashire Medical Services.

The practice has been inspected before on 30 December 2013 using the CQC’s previous inspection methodology and was found to be compliant at that time.

Updated 18 February 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Parkside Surgery on 12 January 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Clinical audits were undertaken and their results had been used to drive improvements to patient outcomes.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a GP. There was effective use of a telephone triage system to manage urgent appointments available the same day.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
• The practice had a number of policies and procedures to govern activity and staff were engaged in a process of reviewing and updating them to ensure they were applicable to activities undertaken in the practice.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Ensure there is an auditable system for monitoring the recording of serial numbers on blank hand written and electronic prescriptions pads held in storage and once allocated to the GP so that their location is easily identified.

• Ensure the system in place to monitor stocks of medicine held in the premises is fully embedded and incorporates all medicine including that stored in the GPs bags.

• Ensure all staff receive up to date infection prevention and control training and all cleaning tasks are included on relevant cleaning schedules, for example washing fabric privacy curtains.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 18 February 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions.

• Nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority.

• Performance for diabetes related indicators was better than the national average. For example, the percentage of patients with diabetes on the register whose last measured total cholesterol (measured within the preceding 12 months) was 5mmol/l or less was 90.19% compared to the national average of 80.53%.

• Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed.

• All these patients were invited for a structured annual review to check their health and medicines needs were being met. For those patients with the most complex needs, the GPs worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

• 87% of patients on four or more medicines had attended for a medication review in the previous 12 months.

Updated 18 February 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people.

• There were systems in place to identify and follow up children living in disadvantaged circumstances and who were at risk, for example, children and young people who had a high number of A&E attendances.

• Immunisation rates were relatively high for standard childhood immunisations.

• Patients told us that children and young people were treated in an age-appropriate way and were recognised as individuals, and we saw evidence to confirm this.

• The practice’s uptake for the cervical screening programme was 82.39%, which was higher than the national average of 81.83 %.

• Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies.

• We saw positive examples of joint working with midwives, health visitors and school nurses. The practice manager was involved in negotiations to prevent the withdrawal of health visitor services.

Updated 18 February 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people.

• The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population.

• The practice was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs. Staff liaised closely with the community nurse practitioner who carried out proactive home visits to manage the healthcare needs of patients resident in local care homes.

• All patients over the age of 75 had a named GP.

• The practice maintained a palliative care register as well as a pre-palliative care register of patients nearing the end of their lives, and worked closely with palliative care nurses to coordinate their care.

• Flu vaccination rates for the over 65s were 80.41%.

Updated 18 February 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of working-age people (including those recently retired and students).

• The needs of the working age population, those recently retired and students had been identified and the practice had adjusted the services it offered to ensure these were accessible, flexible and offered continuity of care.

• The practice was proactive in offering online services as well as a full range of health promotion and screening that reflects the needs for this age group.

• Appointments were available outside normal working hours to cater for those patients in full time employment.

Updated 18 February 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

• 86.11% of patients diagnosed with dementia had had their care reviewed in a face to face meeting in the last 12 months, which was slightly higher than the national average.

• Performance for mental health related indicators was also above the national average. For example the percentage of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and other psychoses who had a comprehensive, agreed care plan documented in the record in the preceding 12 months was 92.86% compared to the national average of 88.47%.

• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of people experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia.

• The practice offered an enhanced service to facilitate timely diagnosis of dementia

• The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.

• The practice had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency where they may have been experiencing poor mental health.

• Staff had a good understanding of how to support patients with mental health needs and dementia. One of the GP partners is an active member of a local Dementia Friends group.

Updated 18 February 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

• The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances including those with a learning disability.

• The practice offered longer appointments for patients with a learning disability.

• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable people.

• The practice informed vulnerable patients about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.

• Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse in vulnerable adults and children. Staff were aware of their responsibilities regarding information sharing, documentation of safeguarding concerns and how to contact relevant agencies in normal working hours and out of hours.

• The practice had a shared care agreement with the local community drug team and clinics were offered on site for patients who misused drugs.