The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

King Street Surgery

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

273 Bedford Road, Kempston, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 8QD (01234) 852222

Provided and run by:
King Street Surgery

All Inspections

08 December 2021

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at King Street Surgery on 25 November 2019.

The practice was rated as good overall; however, we found a breach of regulations which meant the practice was rated requires improvement for providing safe services.

The report for the November 2019 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for King Street Surgery on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

This inspection carried out on 8 December 2021 was a desk-based review to confirm that the practice had carried out its plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breach of regulations that we identified at our previous inspection in November 2019.

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

  • information sent to us from the provider.
  • information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services.

We rated the practice as good for providing safe services because:

  • An action plan had been put in place to make improvements to the practice.
  • Records of staff vaccinations were in place.
  • Fire drills had been completed in line with the fire safety policy.
  • Audits had taken place of the prescribing practices of non-medical prescribers.
  • A stock of emergency medicines was held at the practices three sites.

Additionally, where we previously told the practice they should make improvements our key findings were as follows:

  • The practice had a programme of quality improvement activity that included two-cycle audits to demonstrate the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care provided. For example, a two-cycle audit was completed to review the quality of end of life care for patients. The second cycle of the audit showed that more patients received support and had identified their preferred place of death. There was a reduction in the number of patients who had died in hospital.
  • Improvements had been made to the practice telephone system that allowed for flexibility with handling incoming calls. Results from the National GP Patient Survey published in July 2021 demonstrated that patient satisfaction had improved. For example, the percentage of respondents to the GP patient survey who responded positively to how easy it was to get through to someone at their GP practice on the telephone was 59% compared to 42% at the previous inspection.

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

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care

25 Nov 2019

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at King Street Surgery on 25 November July 2019 following our annual regulatory review of the information available to us including information provided by the practice. Our review indicated that there may have been a significant change to the quality of care provided since the last inspection.

This inspection focused on the following key questions: safe, effective, responsive and well-led.

Because of the assurance received from our review of information we carried forward the ratings for the following key questions: caring.

At the last inspection in March 2016 we rated the practice as good overall.

Our judgement of the quality of care at this service is based 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.

The practice is rated as good overall.

The practice was rated as requires improvement for providing safe services because:

  • A fire drill had not been completed in the previous six months. At the time of inspection, we saw evidence that a fire drill had been booked in the coming weeks.
  • The practice did not hold a full list of emergency medicines and had not completed a risk assessment to mitigate this.
  • The practice did not complete audits of prescribing of consultations for non-medical prescribers.
  • A complete record of staff vaccinations was not held.
  • Systems were in place to ensure patients were safeguarded from abuse. Staff were knowledgeable regarding the signs of abuse and how to escalate concerns.
  • Clinical records that we reviewed showed that care was coordinated for vulnerable and complex patients.

The practice was rated as good for providing effective care because:

  • Patients had good outcomes because they received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
  • Staff were trained for their roles and the practice provided opportunities for career progression.

The practice was rated as good for providing responsive care because:

  • The practice was aware of the challenges around access and had created an action plan to manage these. Actions included increasing patient education and adjusting the skill mix of clinicians.
  • Complaints were managed in a timely way. We saw evidence that the practice learnt from complaints and improved practice.

The practice was rated as good for providing well-led care because:

  • The practice had clear governance systems in place.
  • Staff told us that management teams were responsive to raised concerns and they had confidence in their leadership.
  • The practice had a strong vision of providing patient-centred care and staff we spoke with showed commitment to patient care.

The areas where the provider must make improvements as they are in breach of regulations are:

  • Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.

There were areas where the provider should make improvements are:

  • Extend quality improvement activity to include two-cycle clinical audits
  • Continue to monitor and improve patient access and levels of patient satisfaction in relation to this.

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

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BS BM BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care

9 December 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Kings St Surgery on 9 December 2015. 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 the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
  • Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that 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.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice