- GP practice
The Birches Medical Centre
Report from 24 July 2024 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 24 June to 10 July 2024. We conducted this assessment due to the legal entity change of this provider and because we received information of concern. We have not previously rated this service. This assessment did not cover all parts of our Single Assessment Framework; therefore, we have only updated scores and ratings for those areas which we have assessed. We will carry out future assessments to cover other parts of the Framework and will update our website with the findings. We assessed all quality statements from the well-led key question and found areas of concern. Overall, the practice is unrated with the well led key question rated as requires improvement. At this assessment, we found effective arrangements were in place for partnership working and for improvement and innovation. However, we found improvements were needed to ensure governance systems for the oversight of recruitment and training were effective. Improvements were needed to ensure policies, procedures and guidance could be easily accessed by staff and newly written policies needed time to be embedded in practice. We found 1 breach of regulation for governance. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.
People's experience of this service
The practice was rated 3.5 out of 5 stars from feedback on the Healthwatch Suffolk website. The most recent 10 reviews were mixed, with 3 rated 5 stars, 2 rated 3 stars, and 5 rated 2 stars. Positive feedback related to ease of contact, access to appointments, willingness of staff to help, and a speedy response for a cancer referral. Less positive feedback related to difficulties with access to appointments, poor communication, and a lack of confidentiality in the reception area. The practice had 2 reviews on the NHS website, 1 rated 5 stars and 1 rated 4 stars. Both related to access and included improvements which had been made to access and noted staff were helpful, caring, kind and efficient and people felt listened to. We spoke with and received feedback from 34 people and their representatives. Most people were happy with the care and treatment they received. However, some reported difficulty accessing an appointment and getting through on the telephone. The provider monitored access to appointments regularly and had implemented changes to the online appointment system in response to this. A new telephone system was being installed in July 2024. One indicator in the National GP Patient Survey published 2023 showed a negative variation in relation to access by telephone, however improvements to performance had been sustained in 3 of the other access indicators, over the previous 2-3 years.