Background to this inspection
Updated
23 April 2018
The Meads Medical Practice is situated in Sittingbourne, Kent. The practice is aligned to the NHS Swale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and has a general medical services contract with NHS England for delivering primary care services to the local community.
The practice has a patient population of 9800. The proportion of patients who are aged 55 to 64 years is lower than the national average and the proportion of patients aged 0 to 9 years and 25 to 39 years is higher than the national average. The practice is in an area with an average deprivation score, and average levels of unemployment.
Consultation and treatment rooms are located on the ground floor of purpose-built building. Patient parking, including disabled parking, is available at the practice.
There is one principal GP (male) and two full time salaried GPs (male). There is one part-time female salaried GP. There is one female nurse practitioner, three practice nurses, one urgent care practitioner, one health care assistant and one phlebotomist (all female). Two of the nurses are qualified as Independent Prescribers. In addition, there is a business manager and a practice manager as well as a team of reception and administrative staff.
The practice is a teaching and a training practice (teaching practices take medical students and training practices have GP trainees and doctors undertaking a two-year training programme following graduation from medical school). The practice also supports nursing students.
The practice is open between 8am and 6.30pm Monday to Friday. Extended hours appointments are offered from 6.30pm to 8pm on Monday to Wednesday.
Primary medical services are available to patients via an appointments system. There is a range of clinics for all age groups as well as the availability of specialist nursing treatment and support. There are arrangements with other providers (Medway On Call Care (MedOCC)) to deliver services to patients outside of the practice’s working hours.
Services are provided from: The Meads Medical Practice, 29 Quartz Way, The Meads, Sittingbourne, ME10 5AA.
Updated
23 April 2018
Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Meads Medical Practice on 5 October 2017. The overall rating for the practice was requires improvement. The full comprehensive report on the April 2017 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Meads Medical Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
This inspection was an announced focused inspection carried out on 29 March 2018. The purpose was to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulations that we identified in our previous inspection on 5 October 2017. A comprehensive action plan was provided by the practice in a timely manner, which detailed how action had been taken to make improvement. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also additional improvements made since our last inspection.
Overall the practice is now rated as Good.
Our key findings were as follows:
- There was a system to help ensure that all medicines alerts from the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) were actioned appropriately.
- The practice was part of a commissioning pathway where some patients who were prescribed warfarin, an anticoagulant medicine, had their blood-clotting levels monitored outside of the practice. There was a system to check and record these levels prior to treatment being prescribed.
- Higher than average areas of exception reporting for clinical outcomes had been addressed. The system to identify patients who were due to attend routine reviews had been reviewed. (Exception reporting is the removal of patients from calculations where, for example, the patients are unable to attend a review meeting).
- There was a clear programme of quality reviews and clinical audits. Second cycles of audits had been carried out to demonstrate sustained improvements to patient outcomes.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice
Families, children and young people
Updated
23 April 2018
Working age people (including those recently retired and students)
Updated
23 April 2018
People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia)
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23 April 2018
People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable
Updated
23 April 2018