Archived: Bedfont Clinic Also known as Greenbrook Bedfont

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Bedfont Clinic (Greenbrook Bedfont) on 20 October 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance.
• Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• 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. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said they could get urgent appointments when they needed them and had access to telephone consultations. However, some patients told us they could not get an appointment with their preferred GP as easily which was also noted in the national GP patient survey.
• 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.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Ensure there is an effective system in place to track blank printer prescriptions through the practice in line with national guidance.
• Undertake a Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) risk assessment.
• Ensure all staff have undertaken identified mandatory training and review chaperone training to ensure all staff understand their role and responsibility when chaperoning.
• Put a system in place to ensure all medical equipment is included in an annual schedule for medical equipment checks in line with guidance.
• Consider improving communication with patients who have a hearing impairment.
• Advertise the availability of interpreter services and consider providing information in other languages reflective of the patient population.
• Review the staff’s understanding of Gillick competency and Fraser guidelines (used to help assess whether a child has the maturity to make their own decisions and to understand the implications of those decisions) and its impact on a minor accessing care and treatment.
• Continue to review the patient satisfaction and the national GP patient survey to ensure continuous improvement.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice