Grace House Surgery

Updated 4 May 2020

P.A. Patel Surgery is in a converted house in a residential area of Benfleet, Essex. The practice provides services for approximately 2600 patients.

• Services are provided from 85 Hart Road, Benfleet, Essex, SS7 3PR. The practice does not have its own website; however, they do offer online appointments and repeat prescription ordering.
• The staff comprises of a male lead GP, a practice manager, a practice nurse and a team of receptionists. The practice also uses two regular locum GPs including a female GP to give patients a choice when booking appointments.
• The practice has a smaller than average population aged 0 to 39 years old and a larger than average population aged 50 years and over.
• There is a larger number of unemployed people at the practice than locally or nationally.
• The practice is open between 8.30am to 1pm and 2pm to 6.30pm daily, on Tuesdays the practice remains open until 7.30pm. Appointments are available between 9am to 11.20am daily and between 4pm to 6.15pm (7.30pm on Tuesdays) every day apart from Thursdays when there is no afternoon clinic, although home visits are available if required.
• The practice is a member of the local GP Alliance which offers patients weekend appointments at an alternative location.
• When the practice is closed, patients are directed to call 111 to access out of hours services. These services are provided by Integrated Care 24.

Updated 4 May 2020

This practice is rated as good overall.

(Previous rating July 2017 – Requires Improvement)

The key questions were:

Safe - Good

Effective – Requires Improvement

Caring – Requires Improvement

Responsive – Good

Well-led – Good

The key questions at this inspection are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at P.A. Patel Surgery on 14 August 2018 to follow up on breaches of regulations found at the inspection carried out in July 2017.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear systems to manage and reduce the risk of safety incidents occurring. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
• The practice ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.
• Data from the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) showed; people with long-term conditions, patient outcomes continued to be below the local and national averages.
• Actions taken after the practice carried out their own patient surveys showed some improvement in the satisfaction of patients with the services provided.
• People told us they were involved in their care and treatment, and staff were compassionate, kind, and respected their dignity.
• Patients found the appointment system very easy to use and the recent national GP survey reported 100% of the patients surveyed, could access care when they needed it.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
• We found a passionate vision to provide a family run service to meet their patient needs.

The area where the provider should make improvements are:

• Improve the monitoring of patients with diabetes, COPD and hypertension

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP Chief Inspector of General Practice

Please refer to the detailed report and the evidence tables for further information.

Updated 4 May 2020

Updated 4 May 2020

Updated 4 May 2020

Updated 4 May 2020

Updated 4 May 2020

Updated 4 May 2020