Archived: Griffins Brook Medical Centre

Updated 23 February 2017

Griffins Brook Medical Centre (BG Health) is located in Bournville, a suburb of Birmingham. The practice holds a General Medical Services (GMS) contract, this is a nationally agreed contract commissioned by NHS England. There are 7,700 registered patients. The practice has a branch surgery; Bunbury Road Surgery, 108 Bunbury Road, Birmingham, B31 2DN. Telephone 0121 4751050.

The number of older patients registered with the practice was steadily increasing due to the nearby Bournville Extra Care scheme. An 80 bedded care home was due to be completed and the plan is for the practice to take on responsibility for the care of those patients.

The practice is managed by five GP partners (one male, four female). There is one nurse prescriber who assesses patients with minor illnesses and two practice nurses who carry out reviews of patients who have long term conditions such as asthma and hypertension. They also provide cervical screening and contraceptive services. There are two healthcare assistants (HCAs) who carry out duties such as, phlebotomy (taking blood for testing), health checks and vaccinations. There is a practice manager who is supported by a senior receptionist and nine receptionists who also carry out administration duties.

The practice offers a range of clinics for chronic disease management, diabetes, heart disease, cervical screening, contraception advice, joint injections and vaccinations.

Weekly clinics are held at both practices for substance misuse by external professionals. These clinics are supported by a GP from the practice.

Patients can telephone the main practice or the branch practice to make an appointment. There are arrangements for the installation of a new joint telephone system so that patients will only need to dial one number.

Both sites have dedicated parking areas for patients including patients with a disability. Both have step free and are suitable for access by wheelchair users. There is a toilet that is adapted for use by people who have restricted mobility. Each site has a total of five clinical rooms.

The practice is a designated training practice for trainee GPs. These are qualified doctors who are learning the role of a GP.

Both practice sites are open from 8.30am until 6.30pm every weekday and telephone lines are open at 8am. Griffins Brook Medical Centre Closes at 12.30pm every Wednesday and Bunbury Road Surgery closes at 12.30pm every Thursday. We visited both sites during our inspection.

Appointments times at Griffins Brook Medical Centre are:

• From 9am until 11.30am and patients who need an urgent appointment, telephone calls and triaging and if necessary appointments are offered.

• From 3pm until 5.30pm.

• Extended hours are by appointment from 9am until 11.30am every Saturday.

Appointments times at Bunbury Road Surgery are:

• From 9am until 11.30am and patients who need an urgent appointment, telephone calls and triaging and if necessary appointments are offered.

• From 3.30pm until 5.50pm.

• Extended opening hours are by appointment from 6.30pm until 7.30pm every Monday when patients can be seen by a GP or a practice nurse.

Requests for home visits may be contacted by telephone to enable GPs to prioritise which patients should be visited first.

The practice has opted out of providing GP services to patients out of hours. When the practice is closed, there is a recorded message providing details of the out of hours’ provider, Primecare. The practice leaflet includes contact information and there are out of hours’ leaflets in the waiting area for patients to take away with them. Information was also on the practice website.

Updated 23 February 2017

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Griffins Brook Medical Centre (BG Health) and the branch practice, Bunbury Road Surgery on 9 January 2017. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded. Significant events were investigated, acted on when necessary and learning shared with staff.

• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed. There were safe systems for prescribing medicines.

• Staffing levels were monitored to ensure they reflected patients’ needs. Effective staff recruitment procedures ensured that only suitable staff were employed.

• The practice worked closely with other health and social care organisations and with the local community in planning how services were provided to ensure that they met patients’ needs. For example, clinical staff had identified patients who were frail and their needs discussed with other participating health professionals to assess and plan on-going care and treatment.

• Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment and any further training had been identified and planned.

• Patients told us they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in decisions about their care and treatment. They said they were satisfied with standards of care they received.

• The latest data published showed that patient satisfaction in respect of access to the service and the standard of care were rated above the local and nation averages. Patients said they found it easy to make appointments and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.

• Information about how to make a complaint was readily available and easy to understand. Complaints were dealt with in a timely appropriate way.

• There was a clear leadership structure and staff told us they felt well supported by senior staff. Management sought feedback from patients and staff, which it acted on. The governance system monitored the quality of care and the overall performance across the practice. There was a written business plan that was regularly updated and took into account changes and developments such as, as increase in registered patients.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 23 February 2017

The practice is rated good for the care of people with long-term conditions.

• Nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority.

• Data for 2015-2016 showed the percentage of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who had received a review was 100%, comparable with the CCG average of 77% and the national average of 96%. The practice exception rating was 14%, compared with the CCG average of 13% and the national average of 12%. The practice exception rating was higher than average because some patients had refused the spirometry (breathing) test.

• Patients with long-term conditions had structured annual reviews to check that their health and medicine needs were being met. Where necessary reviews were carried out more often.

• Clinical staff worked with health care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care for patients.

• Where necessary patients in this population group had a personalised care plan in place and they were regularly reviewed.

Updated 23 February 2017

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people.

• There were systems in place to identify and follow up children living in disadvantaged circumstances and who were at risk, for example, children and young people who had a high number of accident and emergency (A&E) attendances.

• Childhood vaccinations were above or in line with local and national averages.

• Alerts were put onto the patient’s electronic record when safeguarding concerns were raised.

• There was regular liaison and meetings with the health visitor to review those children who were considered to be at risk of harm.

• All children up to the age of 12 years were triaged and if necessary seen the same day.

• Patients and their children told us that children and young people were treated in an age-appropriate way and were recognised as individuals.

• Pre-bookable appointments were available outside of school hours. Griffins Brook Medical Centre held a GP clinical session from 9am until 11.30am every Saturday. Bunbury Road Surgery offered appointments from 6.30pm until 7.30pm every Monday when patients could be seen by a GP or a practice nurse.

Updated 23 February 2017

The practice is rated good for the care of older people.

• The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population. Patients with enhanced needs had priority access to appointments.

• Staff kept up to date registers of patients’ health conditions and information was held to alert staff if a patient had complex needs.

• The care of older people was managed in a holistic way. Regular multidisciplinary meetings were held that promoted the provision of seamless and up to date care.

• The practice was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits including health checks and vaccinations.

• Practice staff worked with other agencies and health providers to provide patient support. For example, Age UK.

Updated 23 February 2017

The practice is rated good for the care of working-age people (including those recently retired and students).

• Extended opening hours were available and telephone consultations for those patients who found it difficult to attend the practice or if they were unsure whether they needed a face to face appointment.

• Online services were available for booking appointments and ordering repeat prescriptions.

• The practice encouraged and provided a full range of health promotion and screening that reflects the needs for this age group.

• Clinical staff provided smoking cessation advice and made referrals to clinics. External professionals held weekly substance misuse clinics at both sites with a GP in attendance.

Updated 23 February 2017

The practice is rated good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

• Patients who experienced poor mental health were offered an annual physical health check.

• There was a lead GP for patients who experienced poor mental health.

• Data for 2015-2016 showed that 100% (both sites) of patients who experienced poor mental health had agreed care plans in place;

• The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and organisations such as, Birmingham Healthy Minds.

• The practice had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended A&E where they may have been experiencing poor mental health.

• Staff had a good understanding of how to support patients with mental health needs and dementia and had received training in this field.

Updated 23 February 2017

The practice is rated as good for the care of people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

• The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances including homeless people, travellers and those with a learning disability.

• The practice offered longer appointments for patients with a learning disability.

• The practice regularly worked with other health care professionals in the case management of vulnerable patients.

• There was a process to signpost vulnerable patients to additional support services.

• Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse, the actions they should take and their responsibilities regarding information sharing.

• There was a clinical lead for dealing with vulnerable adults and children based at each site.

• The practice had identified 2% of their patients as carers and maintained a register. Clinical staff offered them guidance, signposted them to support groups and offered them the influenza vaccination each year.