The Bush Doctors

Updated 17 August 2022

The Bush Doctors operates from a single location at 16-17 The Links, West 12 Shopping Centre, Shepherd’s Bush, London W12 8PP.

The practice delivers primary care services to a patient population of about 12,150 people living in the Shepherd’s Bush area through a General Medical Services (GMS) contract (a contract between NHS England and general practices for delivering general medical services). The practice is located in the North West London Clinical Commissioning Group area.

The practice is part of a wider primary care network of five GP practices in the area, known as the H&F Partnership Network. The five practices: North End Medical Centre; Richford Gate Medical Centre; The Bush Doctors; Park Medical Centre and Brook Green Medical Centre are all provided by a single provider: H&F Partnership. The practices are registered with CQC as separate locations. The partnership was established in 2018 following the formal merger of the five previously independent practices.

The practice team is made up of four GP partners; six salaried GPs; a practice nurses; the head of nursing for the provider group who also provides nurse sessions at the practice; a nursing associate; two health care assistants; a lead pharmacist, two pharmacists and a pharmacy technician. Non-clinical staff include a site manager; link worker; two health coaches; administrators and receptionists. The practice is also supported by centralised managerial and administrative teams.

The practice is open between 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday with telephone lines opening from 8am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 6pm. The practice offers a range of appointment types including book on the day, telephone consultations; advance appointments and the ‘e-consult’ service which provides a response the next working day when patients submit an online form.

Extended access is provided locally by the provider at one of the other practices in the group, where evening and weekend appointments are available. Patients can also access extended access at two other sites in the borough. Out of hours primary care is accessed through the 111 service and provided by the London Central West Unscheduled Care Collaborative.

The practice population has a greater proportion of adults aged 25 to 50 than the national average with overall levels of income deprivation being somewhat higher than average for England. The prevalence of long-term conditions tends to be lower than average but there is a the prevalence of mental illness is more than double the national average. The population is ethnically diverse.

The provider is registered with CQC to deliver the regulated activities: diagnostic and screening procedures; maternity and midwifery services; and the treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

Updated 17 August 2022

We carried out an announced inspection at The Bush Doctors from 8–10 June 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as Good.

Safe - Good

Effective – Good

Caring - Good

Responsive - Good

Well-led - Outstanding

We have not previously inspected this service.

Why we carried out this inspection

The practice was newly registered in 2018 following the formation of the H&F Partnership which provides the service. This inspection was a comprehensive inspection covering all key questions.

How we carried out the inspection

Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.

This included:

• Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing
• Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system and discussing findings with the provider
• Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider
• Requesting evidence from the provider
• A short site visit
• Talking to patient representatives and other stakeholders by telephone interview.

Our findings

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
• Information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as Good overall

We rated the practice as Outstanding for providing a well-led service because:

• The leaders inspired staff to provide high quality care that met patients’ complex needs.
• The partnership had redesigned the organisation of clinical care to provide a more holistic service to patients with complex needs.
• There was strong collaboration across teams, practice sites and with external stakeholders to improve the quality of care and the patient experience.
• Staff told us they received excellent support and encouragement from colleagues and leaders.
• There were opportunities and pathways for staff to develop specialist knowledge and leadership skills.
• There was a focus on learning, research and innovation and a willingness to experiment and pilot new ideas for the benefit of patients.

We rated the practice as Good for providing safe, effective, caring and responsive services because:

• The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• The practice adjusted how it delivered services to meet the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

• Continue work to increase the uptake of childhood immunisations and cancer screening programmes in line with national targets.
• Explore alternative ways to obtain useful feedback from patients about their experience of the service.

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

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services