Archived: Montpelier Surgery

Montpelier Surgery provides primary medical services from Monday to Friday for patients living in central Brighton. The practice is open from 8am till 6.30pm Monday to Friday, except on Mondays where the practice remains open till 8pm and Wednesday morning where the practice opens from 7.30am to accommodate those patients who work. The practice is also open every other Saturday. At the time of the inspection the practice had a patient list of 6,400. We were informed the practice was currently not accepting new patients.

The practice is run by two partner GPs. However, at the time of the inspection only one partner was registered with the Care Quality Commission. We were informed that the second GP was in the process of registering and we saw evidence of this. The practice was also supported by two salaried part time GPs, a practice nurse, a healthcare assistant, a team of reception, administrative staff and a practice manager.

On the two days of inspection we spoke with five administrative staff and three clinical staff members. This included the two partner GPs, the practice nurse and the practice manager. We were informed before the inspection date of the 4 June 2014 that a partner GP and practice manager would be unavailable. We therefore interviewed them before the inspection on 21 May 2014. During the inspection of 4 June 2014 we spoke with 11 patients who were visiting the practice on the day. We gained the views of the virtual patient participation group (PPG) via e-mail and asked patients for their views through comment cards left at the practice. We received 24 comment cards and received only two negative comments.

Patients we spoke with told us they felt respected, treated with dignity and were given appropriate information. The results of the Care Quality Commission comment cards showed that patients thought highly of the practice. There was praise for the practice nurse and reception staff. They also told us they had no concerns with getting appointments.

We spoke with a member of the clinical team who was appointed infection control lead. They were responsible for overseeing infection control at the practice and we saw evidence they had recently completed an infection control audit in April 2014. Patients were protected from risks associated with medicines due to there being correct procedures in place. We viewed the practices’ policies and procedures and found these to be up to date and appropriate. Staff were aware of safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and knew who to speak with if they had any concerns.

Staff told us although the practice had been through a recent leadership change, they still felt valued and appreciated. Staff received appropriate training and had their performance reviewed at annual appraisals. We saw evidence of team meetings where all staff were able to voice opinions and concerns. We saw these meetings also allowed for the cascade of information and gave opportunities for learning from events within the practice.

The practice had completed a patient survey and had responded to patients’ comments. The complaints procedure was on display in the waiting room and we saw evidence that complaints were handled appropriately and in a timely manner.