Brune Medical Centre

Updated 1 May 2025

Brune Medical Centre is part of The Willow Group. The Willow Group was formed in April 2017 between Brune Medical Centre and three other practices. In April 2023, a fifth practice joined the Group. The Willow Group provide NHS services across five sites: Brune, Forton, Stoke Road, Gosport and Waterside Medical Centres. Brune Medical Centre is the main hub, registered to provide the relevant regulated activities and has a registered manager in place.

The Willow Group is a partnership with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The Willow Group and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust are both separately registered providers with the Care Quality Commission. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust are subcontracted to deliver the General Medical Services (GMS) contract. This is a unique arrangement designed to provide integrated pathways to patients. The Willow Group is responsible to overseeing the day to day management of the GP services, whilst Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides clinical and information governance support including recruitment, training, systems and processes.

The practice is situated within the NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) and delivers services to a patient population of approximately 49,000. The National General Practice Profiles states that demographics are in line with local and national averages. Information published by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the 5th decile (5 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others. This assessment considered the demographics of the people using the service, the local context and how this impacted service delivery. We inspected in response to the information we held about the service.

At this inspection we found, the practice did not have fully effective and embedded processes for monitoring patients’ health in relation to some high-risk medicines and patients with diabetes. Although the service had oversight of risks, systems and processes were not always effective to address all shortfalls in performance. This resulted in a breach of regulations in relation to safe care and treatment. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this inspection.

However, there were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Managers ensured staff received training and regular appraisals to maintain high-quality care. Effective processes were in place for monitoring human resources, recruitment and staffing, including staff inductions, mandatory training compliance, and regular clinical supervision for non-medical prescribers with prescribing audits. There were areas of outstanding practice, in relation to contribution to clinical research, improved patient outcomes following 2-cycle audits as well as the continued support of clinical staff as a registered training practice.

Updated 1 May 2025

People were positive about the quality of their care and treatment they received. Although recent survey results from the National GP Patient Survey 2024 showed people described their overall experience of accessing the practice could be improved. Leaders demonstrated they were aware of the challenges to patient access and had acted to improve patient access. However, the practice had obtained Friends and Family Test (FFT) feedback from 2656 patients in the last 3 months who reported a service satisfaction rate of 90%. The practice regularly reviewed patient feedback, identifying themes and trends in monthly governance meetings.

The practice had monitored results from regular staff surveys and feedback we received identified staff felt supported and viewed the leadership positively.

We reviewed feedback sent directly to the Care Quality Commission and patient feedback received by the provider. Staff and patients reported a positive experience of the service. Feedback from the Patient Participation Group (PPG) highlighted they were listened to, valued and had seen positive changes to improve patient experiences. The PPG work with the provider to understand, better reflect and respond to patient needs.