The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Bedwell Medical Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Sinfield Close, Bedwell Crescent, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 1LQ (01438) 311130

Provided and run by:
Bedwell Medical Centre

All Inspections

18 December 2023

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out a targeted assessment of Bedwell Medical Centre on 18 December 2023 without a site visit. Overall, the practice is rated as good. We rated the key question of responsive as requires improvement.

Safe –good – carried forward from previous inspection

Effective – good – carried forward from previous inspection

Caring – good – carried forward from previous inspection

Responsive – requires improvement

Well led – good – carried forward from previous inspection

Following our previous inspection in April 2019, the practice was rated good for safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. At this inspection, we rated the practice requires improvement for providing responsive services.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Bedwell Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

We carried out this assessment as part of our work to understand how practices are working to try to meet demand for access and to better understand the experiences of people who use services and providers.

How we carried out the review

This assessment was carried out remotely. It did not include a site visit.

The process included:

  • Conducting an interview with the provider and members of staff using video conferencing.
  • Reviewing patient feedback from a range of sources
  • Requesting evidence from the provider.
  • Reviewing data we hold about the service
  • Seeking information/feedback from relevant stakeholders

Our findings

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

  • what we found when we inspected
  • information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We found that:

  • Patient satisfaction relating to telephone access was below local and national averages in the national GP patient survey since 2020.
  • Services did not always meet the needs of individual people and were not always delivered in a way to ensure continuity of care.
  • Patients could not always access care and treatment in a timely way and appointments were not always easily accessible in a way that suited a patient’s individual need.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Health Care

16 June 2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Bedwell Medical Centre on 16 June 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

  • There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
  • Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
  • Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
  • Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
  • The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
  • There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
  • The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

  • Continue to monitor and ensure improvement following the measures implemented to improve patient experience and GP patient survey results.
  • Continue to re audit clinical initiatives to ensure continuous clinical improvement.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

4 July 2014

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We inspected the Bedwell Medical Centre and the branch Roebuck Surgery to check if the improvements needed following our previous inspection on 29 January 2014 had been made. We found that the practice had made the required improvements and ensured a clean, hygienic environment for patient care. We spoke with three patients. They told us that they found the environment clean and tidy. Staff told us that arrangements for infection control were much better; improvements had been made to the way the practice was cleaned and that their training on infection control had been updated.

29 January 2014

During a routine inspection

We completed an inspection at Bedwell Medical Centre and the Roebuck Surgery on the same day. This report provides information on our inspection of both practices.

We spoke with seven patients during our inspection. Feedback from most of the patients was positive. One patient told us, "The care's very good."

We spoke with two practice GPs who were able to clearly describe the practice's care and treatment process for patients.

Patients were mostly cared for in a clean, hygienic environment. We found that consultation and treatment rooms were clean. However; one patient said, 'It's generally clean but the chairs could do with a makeover; they're getting a bit threadbare.'

We saw some records of training courses which staff had attended, including safeguarding children. We found that staff had not attended infection control training or regular updates.

The practice was able to provide effective training and appropriate support to trainee doctors. One staff member said, 'The whole team works together really well.'

We saw copies of meeting minutes which showed that issues were discussed with staff at the practice. We found that policies were detailed and contained appropriate information.

A member of the PPG told us, 'The practice listens to the group and we're treated as advisors. We've reported issues to the practice and they've acted on our concerns. Our opinions have been valued.'