Portslade Health Centre Medical Practice is a GP surgery with approximately 12,100 registered patients situated in the Portslade area of Brighton and Hove. The practice provides a range of services for patients, which include clinics to manage long term conditions, family planning and child health. Portslade patients are signposted to and well supported by local community support groups.
The majority of patients we spoke with gave positive feedback about the practice and staff. We reviewed the results of the last patient survey undertaken in 2013. This showed patients were consistently pleased with the service they received.
Our key findings were:
The practice had responded effectively to safeguarding concerns and had robust processes and procedures to keep patients safe.
There was evidence of collaborative working between the practice and the local clinical commissioning group (CCG). A GP partner was on the board of the CCG and the practice was directly involved in influencing and shaping local services to meet patient needs. The practice was fully engaged in the local health economy and was proactive in responding to patient needs. Patients with mental health concerns, those in vulnerable circumstances and young people were particularly well supported.
The GP partners and practice management team were supportive and staff found them very approachable. There were good governance and risk management measures in place.
During our inspection we looked at how well services are provided for specific groups of people and what good care looks like for them. The population groups we reviewed were:
- Older people
- People with long-term conditions
- Mothers, babies, children and young people
- The working-age population and those recently retired
- People in vulnerable circumstances who may have poor access to primary care
- People experiencing mental health problems
We found the practice provided a responsive service for some patients within each population group.