Birchwood Surgery

Updated 15 October 2015

Birchwood Surgery provides a range of primary medical services to the residents of Letchworth. The practice has been at its current purpose built location since 1989.

The practice population is of mixed ethnic background and national data indicates that the area is one of lower deprivation. The practice has approximately 14,000 patients and provides services under a general medical services contract (GMS).

There are eight GP partners who run the practice, three male and five female and they employ two salaried GPs both female. The nursing team consists of three nurses and two health care assistants. There are a number of reception and administration staff led by a practice manager and deputy practice manager. The practice is a training practice and currently has two trainee GPs.

The practice is open between 8am and 6.30pm Monday to Friday with appointments available from 8.30am to 6pm. The practice offers extended opening hours until 8pm on a Tuesday and from 7am on a Wednesday.

When the practice is closed out-of-hours services are provided by Herts Urgent Care and can be accessed via NHS 111.

Updated 15 October 2015

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Birchwood Surgery on 15 July 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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.
• 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 there was sometimes difficulty in getting through to the practice by telephone.
• 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.

Importantly the provider should:

• Carry out regular fire drills.

• Ensure blank prescriptions are stored securely at all times.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 15 October 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions. Nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority. Patients with more than one long term condition had their conditions reviewed in one appointment to avoid multiple visits to the practice. Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed. All these patients had a named GP and a structured annual review to check that their health and medication needs were being met.

Updated 15 October 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people. There were systems in place to identify and follow up children living in disadvantaged circumstances and who were at risk, for example, children and young people who had a high number of A&E attendances. Immunisation rates were relatively high for all standard childhood immunisations. Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies. The practice had regular meetings with the health visitors.

Updated 15 October 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. 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. The practice provided weekly visits to two local care homes and additional visits as required. It was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and rapid access appointments for those with enhanced needs.

Updated 15 October 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of working-age people (including those recently retired and students). The needs of the working age population, those recently retired and students had been identified and the practice had adjusted the services it offered to ensure these were accessible, flexible and offered continuity of care. The practice was proactive in offering online services as well as a full range of health promotion and screening that reflects the needs for this age group. Telephone consultations were available. Students at home from university were offered temporary registration if they needed to see a GP. The practice had extended opening hours one evening and one morning a week.

Updated 15 October 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia). They carried out annual physical health checks and dementia reviews. The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of people experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia. It carried out advance care planning for patients with dementia. Patients with poor mental health had a named GP.

Updated 15 October 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 those with a learning disability. It had carried out annual health checks for people with a learning disability and offered longer appointments. All these patients had a named GP and the practice had a nominated carer’s champion.

The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable people. It had told vulnerable patients about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations. Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse in vulnerable adults and children. Staff were aware of their responsibilities regarding information sharing, documentation of safeguarding concerns and how to contact relevant agencies in normal working hours and out of hours.