Archived: Edenbridge Medical Practice

Updated 10 May 2018

Edenbridge Medical Practice is a GP practice based in the town of Edenbridge, Kent. There are 12,228 patients on the practice list. The practice is similar across the board compared to the national averages for each population group. For example, 21% of patients are aged 65 years of age or over compared to the national average of 17%. The practice is in one of the least deprived areas of Kent.

There are five partners in the practice and a further six salaried GPs (four male and seven female). The GPs are supported by a practice manager, a nursing team of five female registered nurses and a health care assistant (female), thee dispensers and an administrative team.

The practice is able to provide dispensary services to those patients on the practice list who live more than one mile (1.6km) from or have difficulty accessing their nearest pharmacy premises. This service is delivered by trained dispensing staff.

Patients requiring a GP outside of normal working hours are advised to contact the GP Out of Hours service provided by Integrated Care 24 (known as IC 24).

The practice has a General Medical Service (GMS) contract and also offers enhanced services for example; extended hours.

Services are delivered from;

• Edenbridge Medical Practice, Westview, Station Road, Edenbridge, Kent, TN8 5ND

Updated 10 May 2018

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection 22 September 2015 – Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:

Older People – Good

People with long-term conditions – Good

Families, children and young people – Good

Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good

People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good

People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Edenbridge Medical Practice on 28 March 2018, under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• The practice had used clinical audit to drive improvements in patient outcomes.
• The practice had continued to identify and support more patients who were also carers.
• Patients reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
• The practice was equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• Governance arrangements were sufficient and effectively implemented.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Monitor the effectiveness of newly implemented systems for uncollected prescriptions.
• Monitor the effectiveness of the newly implemented significant event/incident reporting policy.
• Monitor the effectiveness of the newly implemented systems for identifying trends in incidents reported and complaints received.
• Continue to monitor and improve national GP patient survey results in relation to accessing the practice by telephone, as well as the booking of appointments.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 24 December 2015

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. Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed. All these patients had a named GP and a structured annual review to check that their health and medicine needs were being met. For those people with the most complex needs, the named GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

Updated 24 December 2015

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 high for all standard childhood immunisations, meaning that the majority of children registered at the practice received their immunisations. Patients told us that children and young people were treated in an age-appropriate way, were recognised as individuals, and we saw evidence to confirm this. Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies.

Updated 24 December 2015

The practice is rated good for the care of older people. The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population and offered home visits, even out of hours, if necessary as well as rapid access appointments for those with enhanced needs. The practice had daily contact with district nurses and participated in monthly or quarterly meetings with other healthcare professionals to discuss any concerns.

Updated 24 December 2015

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 of this age group.

Updated 24 December 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia). All patients experiencing poor mental health had received an annual physical health check. The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of people experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia. It carried out advance care planning for patients with dementia.

The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations. It had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency (A&E) where they may have been experiencing poor mental health. Staff had received training on how to care for people with mental health needs and dementia.

Updated 24 December 2015

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 homeless people, travellers and those with a learning disability. It had invited all 53 registered patients with a learning disability for an annual health check, of which 35 had attended. Where patients had declined or requested a check at a later date, this had been clearly recorded in the patients’ record. It offered longer appointments for people with a learning disability.

The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable people. It had told vulnerable patients about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations. Staff had been trained 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.