Archived: Balderton Primary Care Centre

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Balderton Primary Care Centre on 14 June 2017. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• We inspected the practice after a year of being managed by a new provider (Primary Integrated Community Services Ltd) and a number of improvements had been made to the delivery of services.

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and a system in place for managing significant events. All significant events were discussed at the provider’s clinical governance meetings and learning was disseminated across all locations to promote wider learning and improvement to patient care.

• The practice had clearly defined and embedded systems to minimise risks to patient safety.

• Staff had the skills, knowledge, and experience to deliver effective care and treatment. This included awareness and implementation of current evidence based guidance.

• Clinical audits were regularly undertaken and improvements were made to patient outcomes and the quality of care.

• Patients were very positive about their interactions with staff and said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect. The majority of patients also felt involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.

• The practice planned and co-ordinated patient care with the wider multi-disciplinary team to deliver effective and responsive care for patients with complex health needs and / or living in vulnerable circumstances.

• In response to patient feedback, the practice continually sought to improve access to the service. This included availability of urgent appointments and continuity of care.

• The majority of patients said they could get appointments when they needed one. However, the 2017 national GP survey results showed satisfaction scores related to accessing the service and appointments were below local and national averages.

• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.

• Information about services and how to complain was available. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.

• The practice had a clear vision, which had quality and safety as its top priority. The strategy to deliver this vision was regularly reviewed and discussed with staff.

• There was a clear leadership structure and effective governance arrangements were in place. Staff felt supported by management and involved in the running of the practice.

• The practice had an active patient participation group and worked with them to review and improve services for patients.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Continue to review and improve the skill mix of staff to ensure continuity of care for patients.
• Continue to review and improve access to appointments .
• Continue to monitor and act upon patient experience data to drive service improvement . This includes satisfaction scores for consultation with GPs and attendances for accident and emergency.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice