The Brook Surgery Ltd

Updated 7 November 2019

The Brook Surgery is a private doctor service located at The Lexington, 767 Finchley Road, London NW11 8DN in the Golders Green area of North London. The service is based in a new and purpose-built premise which is fully accessible to people who use a wheelchair or mobility aid.

Approximately 7,400 patients were seen in 2018 with almost half of the service’s patients also being registered with an NHS GP practice. The service offers GP appointments and home visits, healthcare management, child vaccinations, travel vaccine clinic, flu vaccine clinic, well woman clinic, cryotherapy and healthcare screening. Services are provided on a fee-paying basis and patients can choose from a range of charging options, including a membership scheme.

The service is owned by a company and employs eight doctors, four male and four female who work a variety of different work patterns. Two of the doctors are directors of the company and all eight doctors are on the GP register. There is also a business manager and three administrative staff. The provider also has an in-house dispensary and employs a dispensary technician to administer this aspect of the service.

Appointments are available from Monday to Friday between 8am and 7pm, and on Saturday between 9.30am and 12.30pm. The service also provides an out of hours emergency service between 7pm and 10:30pm on weekdays and between 8:30am and 10:30pm at weekends. Arrangements are in place with a different healthcare organisation to provide out of hours care between 10:30pm and 8am.

The service is registered with the CQC to provide the following regulated activities: diagnostic and screening procedures; family planning; maternity and midwifery; and treatment of disease, disorder and injury.

How we inspected this service

Before visiting, we reviewed a range of information we hold about the service and asked the provider to send us some information about the service which we also reviewed. During our visit we:

•Spoke with the staff who were present, including the lead doctor, the business manager, dispensary technician and members of the administration team.

•Reviewed documentary evidence relating to the service and inspected the facilities, equipment and security arrangements.

•Reviewed several patient records with the doctor. We needed to do this to understand how the service assessed and documented patients’ needs, consent and any treatment required.

•We spoke with patients attending the clinic on the day of the inspection and reviewed comment cards completed by patients attending the clinic in advance of the inspection. In total, 36 patients provided feedback.

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To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

•Is it safe?

•Is it effective?

•Is it caring?

•Is it responsive to people’s needs?

•Is it well-led?

These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 7 November 2019

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Brook Surgery Limited on 05 September 2019 as part of our ratings inspection programme for Independent Health Providers.

The service has two registered managers, both of whom are doctors at the service. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the CQC to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting

the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The Brook Surgery is a private doctor service based in the Golders Green area of North London. The service offers GP appointments, home visits, healthcare management, child vaccinations, travel vaccine clinic, flu vaccine clinic, well woman clinic, cryotherapy, healthcare screening and a private dispensary.

We received 36 completed care Quality Commission (CQC) comment cards, all of which were positive. Patients described the service as excellent, and referred to professional and efficient staff who were consistently attentive, friendly and considerate. There were no negative comments.

Our key findings were :

• There were systems in place to safeguard children and vulnerable adults from abuse and staff we spoke with knew how to identify and report safeguarding concerns. All staff had been trained to a level appropriate to their role.
• The service had systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the service learned from them and improved their processes.
• The service carried out staff checks on recruitment, including checks of professional registration where relevant.
• Clinical staff we spoke with were aware of current evidence-based guidance and they had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles.
• There was evidence of quality improvement, including clinical audit.
• Consent procedures were in place and these were in line with legal requirements.
• Systems were in place to protect personal information about patients. The service was registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
• Patients were able to access care and treatment from the clinic within an appropriate timescale for their needs.
• Information about services, fees and membership options as well as the complaints process were available in the waiting area and online.
• The service had proactively gathered feedback from patients.
• Governance arrangements were in place. There were clear responsibilities, roles and systems of accountability to support good governance and management.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review systems used to manage personnel records to ensure managers can be assured all required checks are in place and required mandatory training is up to date.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP
Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care