The Medical Centre

Updated 6 December 2021

The Medical Centre is located in Camelford at:

Church Field

Camelford

Cornwall

PL32 9YT

The practice has two branch surgeries at St Breward and Delabole. St Breward has a dispensary which we visited as part of our inspection.

The provider is registered with CQC to deliver the Regulated Activities; diagnostic and screening procedures, maternity and midwifery services, treatment of disease, disorder or injury, family planning and surgical procedures. These are delivered from all the sites.

The practice is situated within the Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and delivers Personal Medical Services (PMS) to a patient population of about 3,270. This is part of a contract held with NHS England.

Information published by Public Health England shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the fourth lowest decile (four of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others.

The age distribution of the practice population closely mirrors the local and national averages. There are more male patients registered at the practice compared to females.

There is a team of four GPs who provide cover at all three practices. The practice has a team of a Matron, two nurses, an urgent care practitioner, a healthcare assistant, and a phlebotomist (a person trained to take blood). The GPs are supported at the practice by a pharmacist partner and a non clinical partner. The team were supported by a team of reception/administration staff.

Due to the enhanced infection prevention and control measures put in place since the pandemic and in line with the national guidance, most GP appointments were telephone consultations. If the GP needs to see a patient face-to-face then the patient is offered a choice of either the main GP location or the branch surgery.

Out of hours services are provided by the Kernow out of hours service.

Updated 6 December 2021

We carried out an announced inspection at The Medical Centre on 14 October 2021. Overall, the practice is rated as Good.

Safe - Good

Effective - Good

Caring - Good

Responsive - Good

Well-led - Good

How we carried out the inspection.

Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.

This included:

• Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing
• Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system and discussing findings with the provider
• Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider
• Requesting evidence from the provider
• A short site visit
• Staff Questionnaires

Our findings

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.

We have rated this practice as Good overall.

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.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management.
• The practice adjusted how it delivered services to meet the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. 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.

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

• Review arrangements for identifying informal carers who provide support to patients.
• Review the cold chain protocol in regard to frequency of data logger checks.
• The practice should continue to explore ways to encourage patients to attend for childhood immunisations and cervical screening.

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

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care