Archived: Balaam Street Surgery

Updated 22 October 2018

Balaam Street Practice is situated within the Newham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) at 113 Balaam Street, Plaistow, London E13 8AF. The practice provides services under a Personal Medical Services contract to approximately 5734 patients and is located within a purpose-built health centre it shares with a local health visitor service. The practice website is: balaamstreetsurgery.nhs.uk. Balaam Street Surgery is registered with the CQC to carry on the regulated activities of: diagnostic and screening procedures; maternity and midwifery services; and treatment of disease, disorder or injury. The practice was previously registered as a partnership, and this inspection was of the new individual provider who registered with the CQC in March 2018.

The staff team at Balaam Street Surgery at the time of inspection includes: the lead (male) GP working ten sessions per week, two locum GPs (one female working one session and one male working six sessions per week), two female practice nurses (one working four sessions and the other two sessions per week), a female healthcare assistant working four sessions per week, a full-time practice manager, a part-time business manager, and a team of reception and administrative staff working a mixture of part time hours.

The practice is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6.30pm. Face to face GP appointments are available on Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 9.30am to 6.30pm, and on Wednesday and Thursday from 10am to 1pm and 3pm to 6.30pm. Telephone GP consultations are available Monday to Friday from 8am to 6.30pm.

Appointments include home visits, telephone consultations, and same-day and pre-bookable appointments. Urgent appointments are available for patients who need them. Extended hours are not provided by the practice but are available at other GP practice locations through the Newham GP Co-Op service every weekday from 6.30pm to 10pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 8pm. Patients who telephone when the practice is closed are transferred automatically to the local out-of-hours service provider.

Information published by Public Health England rates the level of deprivation within the practice population group as two on a scale of one to ten. Level one represents the highest levels of deprivation and level ten the lowest. Sixty five percent of people in the practice area were from Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) groups. The practice area has a relatively high population of people whose working status is unemployed at 11%, compared to 4% nationally, and a lower percentage of people over 65 years of age at 7%, compared to 17% nationally.

Updated 22 October 2018

This practice is rated as Good overall.

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 Balaam Street Surgery on 26 September 2018 as part of our inspection programme and following a change to the provider’s registration. The practice was previously registered as a partnership, and this inspection was of the new individual provider who registered with the CQC in March 2018.

At this inspection we found:

• There were no recent fire drills documented by the practice.
• The practice had appropriate systems to safeguard children and vulnerable adults from abuse. Staff had received up to date safeguarding training appropriate to their role.
• Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles.
• The practice reviewed and monitored the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. Care and treatment was delivered according to relevant and current evidence based guidance and standards.
• The practice had an active patient participation group who were involved with the development of the practice.
• The practice had implemented a new online booking and triage system to improve access to appointments.
• There was a clear leadership structure, and staff told us that they felt able to raise concerns and were confident that these would be addressed.
• There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Take action to ensure that fire evacuation drills are completed and documented appropriately.
• Review where documents relating to staff checks and training are saved on the computer system.
• Develop a system for ensuring that electrical and medical equipment in the doctor’s bag is in good working order.
• Take action to ensure there is a functioning hearing loop which staff know how to use.

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

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

Updated 22 October 2018

Updated 22 October 2018

Updated 22 October 2018

Updated 22 October 2018

Updated 22 October 2018

Updated 22 October 2018