Background to this inspection
Updated
1 June 2020
Bideford Medical Centre is located within the NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area. It provides medical services to approximately 15,300 patients.
The practice is contracted to provide primary medical services (PMS) and are registered with the CQC for the following regulated activities: diagnostic and screening procedures, family planning, maternity and midwifery services, surgical procedures and treatment of disease, disorder or injury.
A range of services are provided including childhood immunisations, chronic disease management and several enhanced services (enhanced services require an enhanced level of service provision above what is normally required under the core GP contract) learning disability annual reviews, extended opening hours, and rotavirus and shingles immunisations.
The practice is situated in a modern two storey building. The practice is located on the same site as the Bideford Community Hospital which has a minor injury unit and mental health team. The consulting and treatment rooms for the practice are situated on the ground floor. There is patient parking immediately outside of the practice with spaces reserved for those with disabilities.
Information published by Public Health England rates the level of deprivation within the practice population group as fourth on a scale of one to ten. Level one represents the highest levels of deprivation and level ten the lowest. The practice age profile showed the practice population to be in line with national averages.
There is a team of 11 GPs partners and four salaried GPs. There were five female and ten male GPs. The GPs are supported by a practice manager, seven practice nurses, six health care assistants (HCA), one paramedic, one advanced nurse practitioner and additional reception and administration staff. The practice is co-located with district nurses, health visitors, midwives, school nurses, mental health counsellors, drug and alcohol services.
The practice is open daily between 8am and 6.30pm. The practice has merged its Improved Access and Extended hours access. This practice and the other five practices across Torridge Health Primary Care Network (PCN) offered extended access seven days a week from 7.30am until 8pm. Urgent appointments could be seen by a same day team clinician.
The practice is a training practice for doctors who are training to be qualified as GPs. There are three trainer GPs who are supporting two registrars at the practice and two medical students. Patients seen by these GPs are given longer appointments and the trainee GP has access to a senior GP throughout the day for support.
Out of hour’s services are not provided as these are provided by the NHS 111 service whose contact details are available in the practice and on the website.
The provider has one location and we inspected that location at:
Abbotsham Road
Bideford
Devon EX39 3AF
Updated
1 June 2020
We carried out an announced focused inspection at Bideford Medical Centre on 11 February 2020 as part of our inspection programme.
We carried out an inspection of this service following our annual review of the information available to us including information provided by the practice.
This inspection focused on the following key questions:
Is the service effective?
Is the service responsive?
Is the service well led?
Because of the assurance received from our review of information we carried forward the ratings for the following key questions:
Is the service safe?
Is the service caring?
The practice was previously inspected in June 2017 and the report published in July 2017 with an overall rating of Good and all domains rated as Good. On our inspection in February 2020 we found that significant improvements had been made which had changed the rating awarded.
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 rated all population groups as good.
We saw areas of outstanding practice:
- A national first had been achieved by the practice in setting up the community pharmacist scheme. As part of Improved Access appointments on weekends or evenings, patients could book a pharmacist appointment to discuss minor ailments or illnesses. Home visits were available. This service was open to all 180,415 pts across the 18 practices.
- A new website had been designed to promote self-care and self-manage conditions such as drug and alcohol problems, better eating, anxiety, sleep and welfare. Patients in younger age groups had been particularly positive about the new service. The practice had shared the new website with the 18 other practices in North Devon.
- A citizen’s advice bureau with a trained employee was available for bookable appointments at the practice. This service was funded by the practice. Patients could access consultations on a wide range of holistic solutions for health and well-being. For example, social prescribing, social security and housing, relationships and mental health.
- Hospital waiting lists were actively reduced by the practice. A practice GP provided in-house vasectomy and carpal tunnels procedures. The practice had secured an agreement with the local hospital to enable them to reduce hospital waiting lists.
- As the lead practice both in the North Devon Collaborative Board (NDCB) and Torridge Health Primary Care Network (PCN) the practice had initiated and implemented the improved access system across the 18 practices in North Devon.
Whilst we did not find any breaches of regulation, we found an area where the provider should make improvement;
- Continue to improve cervical cancer screening uptake in line with national guidance
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