Archived: Suttons Medical Group

Updated 10 April 2015

Sutton Bridge Medical Centre is a branch surgery and provides services to approximately 6,280 patients in the area of Spalding Lincolnshire. The practice is situated in a rural area with two market towns and approximately 16 small villages in the surrounding area. The area served is a largely deprived rural area with the most severely deprived area in South Holland. A dispensing service is provided for patients who live more than one mile from a chemist.

The practice has a high number of patients over 75 years. The range of services provided by the practice includes minor surgery, minor injuries, family planning, maternity care, blood testing, vaccinations, mental health, and various clinics for patients with long term conditions. Ten percent of the patient group are eastern European with Latvian, Lithuanian and Polish backgrounds.

The practice employs five full time GP Partners, a full time salaried GP, a part time salaried GP (two days per week) and a part time regular locum (two days per week). There is a practice manager, a nurse practitioner, five practice nurses, four health care support assistants, eight dispensary staff, three medical secretaries and administrative and support staff. There are 53 GP sessions per week.

This service is supported by the Lincolnshire South Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). A CCG is an NHS organisation that brings together GPs and health professionals to take on commissioning responsibilities for local health services.

The practice has opted out of providing out- of- hour’s services to patients. This service is provided by NHS Direct 111. The practice holds the following contracts: General Medical Services (GMS) to deliver essential primary care services.

Updated 10 April 2015

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Sutton Bridge Medical Centre on 01 December 2014. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing safe, well-led, effective, caring and responsive services. It was also good for providing services for older people, people with long term conditions, families, children and young people, working age people (including those recently retired and students), people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable, and people experiencing poor mental health.

Our key findings across all 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, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed, with the exception of those relating to recruitment checks.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• 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.

However there were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

In addition the provider should:

• Improve the arrangements for dispensing medicines. These include reviewing the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for medicines management and update these annually. Dispensing staff should also follow the clinical audit and incident reporting procedures; and make arrangements for dispensing assistants to receive regular knowledge and competency checks.

• Make arrangements for nurses to continue to access clinical supervision as already established by the practice.

• Arrange for policies and procedures to be regularly reviewed and updated including the whistleblowing policy, and child protection procedures.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 10 April 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions. All patients were offered an annual review including a review of their medication, to check that their health needs were being met. When needed, longer appointments and home visits were available. Where possible, clinicians reviewed patients with long term conditions and any other needs at a single appointment, to prevent them from attending various reviews. Emergency processes were in place and referrals were made for patients who had a sudden deterioration in their health. For those patients with the most complex needs, a named GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver multi-disciplinary support and care.

Updated 10 April 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people. Systems were in place for identifying and following-up children living in disadvantaged circumstances and who were at risk. The practice worked in partnership with midwives and health visitors. Immunisation rates were relatively high for all standard childhood immunisations. Appointments were available outside of school hours to enable children to attend. Patients told us that children and young people were treated in an age-appropriate way and were recognised as individuals. Emergency processes were in place and referrals made for children and pregnant women who had a sudden deterioration in health.

Updated 10 April 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people. Nationally reported data showed that outcomes for patients were good for conditions commonly found in older people. All patients 75 years and over were allocated a named GP to offer continuity of care to ensure that their needs were being met. Care plans were provided for patients over 75 years, to help avoid unplanned admissions to hospital. Carers were identified and supported to care for older people. Home visits were carried out for older patients who were housebound and those requiring end of life care. The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population and had a range of enhanced services, for example, in dementia and end of life care. It was responsive to the needs of older people, and rapid access appointments for those with enhanced needs.

Updated 10 April 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of working-age people (including those recently retired and students). The practice provided extended opening hours to enable patients to attend in an evening or early morning. Patients were also offered telephone consultations and were able to book non-urgent appointments around their working day by telephone, on line. The practice offered a choose and book service for patients referred to secondary services. This enabled patient’s greater flexibility over when and where their tests took place and first outpatient appointments at hospital. NHS health checks were offered to patients over 40 years. The practice was proactive in offering health promotion and screening appropriate to the needs for this age group.

Updated 10 April 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia). The practice held a register of patients experiencing poor mental health. Patients were offered an annual health, including a review of their medicines. The practice worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of people experiencing poor mental health, to ensure their needs were regularly reviewed, and that appropriate risk assessments and care plans were in place. Patients were supported to access emergency care and treatment when experiencing a mental health crisis. Psychiatry and counselling services were reduced for this patient group due to limited local resources. The GPs were planning for IAPT (Improving access to psychological therapy) services to be set up in the practice. (Currently IAPT is provided by another organisation).

Updated 10 April 2015

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 people with learning disabilities. Patients with a learning disability were offered an annual health review, including a review of their medication. When needed longer appointments and home visits were available. The practice was part of a local scheme to support the most vulnerable patients with the aim of managing their needs at home and avoiding unplanned hospital admissions. The practice worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of people in vulnerable circumstances and at risk of abuse.