Royal Primary Care Brooklyn

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

We looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture. This is the first assessment for this service since its registration with CQC. This key question has been rated as Good.

This service scored 71 (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 had a shared vision, strategy and culture across the 4 practices within Royal Primary Care. The vision was to provide exceptional patient care by exceptional people. Staff at Royal Primary Care Brooklyn had not contributed to the development of the practice vision and strategy because this was in place before the provider took over the practice. However, the vision and strategy was due to be reviewed as part of the provider’s 5-year plan and the Government’s 10 year plan. Feedback we received from staff regarding the culture within the practice was very positive. They told us it was a positive and friendly environment to work in, the culture was open, transparent, blame free and non-discriminatory and that it felt like one big family.

The service had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty. Staff told us leaders within the practice were extremely approachable and responded to concerns raised. Most staff were positive about leadership from Royal Primary Care (RPC) and plans were in place for a lead member of RPC to provide monthly support within the practice. Leaders worked with other practices in the primary care network and were engaged in the development of primary care services within the local area.

The service fostered a positive culture where staff felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff were aware of who to go to for this support though no-one we spoke with had needed to do this.

The service valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them. Policies and procedures to promote diversity and equality were in place. We saw senior leaders had addressed concerns related to discrimination. Adjustments had been made to ensure all staff were valued, for example, reasonable adjustments to support a member of staff were in place.

The service had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. There were clear lines of communication between leaders within the practice and Royal Primary Care (RPC) to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. Leaders acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate. Leaders responded very quickly when our assessment highlighted several areas of concern regarding safety within the practice environment. Some policies did not always reflect the latest guidance. In particular, safeguarding, female genital mutilation, recruitment, complaints and non-medical prescribing. Immediately following our assessment, the provider made the required amendments and sent the updated policies to us. Managers held regular practice meetings with staff, during which they discussed clinical concerns and emerging risks.

The service understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. Leaders shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement. The service worked with other practices within their primary care network to offer extended access appointments and wellbeing clinics. The practice worked closely with the local hospital so that secondary care could prepare for an increase in demand for services when GP practices were under pressure. There was a joint virtual Patient Participation Group across the 4 practices within Royal Primary Care (RPC). Two representatives from RPC Brooklyn told us that they regularly attended these meetings however, most of the items discussed related to the other 3 practices. They told us they had raised concerns regarding telephone access to the practice and as a result of this, the practice had installed a new telephone system which provided call backs.

The service focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. It encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. For example, GP fellows across Royal Primary Care (RPC) had been supported to complete clinical diplomas in specific healthcare related areas. In particular, dermatology, musculoskeletal medicine, patient safety, population health and respiratory medicine. Once this training has been completed the fellows will rota across the 4 practices within RPC to provide an enhanced service for people requiring it. Non-clinical staff were supported to develop through apprenticeships. Organisational wide strategy events had been set up to gather feedback from staff. The practice had a quality improvement plan in place to help drive improvements in services. This included a focus on the appointment system, in particular, improvements to the triage tool and changing from a 14 day target for routine appointments to a 7 day target. Leaders used significant events, complaints, audits and staff and patient surveys to drive improvements within the practice.