Archived: The Bellingham Green Surgery

Updated 25 February 2016

The Bellingham Green Surgery is a medium sized practice based in Lewisham. The practice list size is approximately 7000. The practice population is diverse with patients from a range of ethnic and social backgrounds.

The practice is set out over two floors and facilities include 11 consulting rooms (all on the ground floor), patient waiting room, administration offices and a staff room. The premises have wheelchair access and there are facilities for wheelchair users including accessible toilets.

The staff team compromises of four GPs partners (one male and three female) , one salaried GPs (one female), two registrars (one male and one female), on retainer GP (female) three female practice nurses, one female healthcare assistant, a practice manager, seven receptionists, a medical secretary and an administration assistant.

The practice is open between 7.55am and 6.30pm Monday to Friday and offer extended opening on Tuesdays from 6.30pm to 8.15pm. Appointments are available with a GP from 8.00am-12.00pm every morning and 1.00pm-6.30pm daily (except Tuesdays when they are available from 1.00pm to 8.15pm). When the practice is closed patients are directed (through a recorded message on the practice answerphone) to contact the local out of hours provider or NHS ‘111’ service. This information is also in the practice leaflet and on the website.

The practice is registered as a partnership with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide the regulated activities of: treatment of disease, disorder or injury; diagnostic and screening procedures and family planning services; surgical procedures and maternity and midwifery services at one location. The practice is a training practice [a training practice is a practice that had qualified doctors who are in training to become general practitioners (GPs)].

Updated 25 February 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Bellingham Green on 2 December 2015. 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 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.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• 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.
• 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 procedures are in place for minute/ note taking at clinical meetings, including the partners meetings and significant event analysis meetings.

• Ensure procedures are in place for recording and monitoring incidents.

• Ensuring incidents are captured, investigated and lessons learnt are shared among all staff members.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 25 February 2016

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.

• 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 medicines needs were being met. For those people with the most complex needs, the named GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

Updated 25 February 2016

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 and child carers. Immunisation rates were relatively high for all standard childhood immunisations.

• Patients told us that children and young people were treated in an age-appropriate way and were recognised as individuals, and we saw evidence to confirm this.

• Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies.

• We saw good examples of joint working with midwives, health visitors and school nurses.

• Phlebotomy service was available on-site for children.

Updated 25 February 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people.

• The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population.

• It was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits for health and welfare checks and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs.

• The practice provided the enhanced service of dementia screening, end of life care and hospital admittance avoidance.

• Reception staff maintained a list of older vulnerable patients and have systems in place to contact them if they do not attend for booked appointments.

• They provided an in-house phlebotomy service.

Updated 25 February 2016

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.

Updated 25 February 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

• 87% of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and other psychoses who have a comprehensive, agreed care plan documented in the past 12 months.

• 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.

• The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.

• It had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency where they may have been experiencing poor mental health.

• Staff had a good understanding of how to support people with mental health needs and dementia.

• The practice managed depo medication and care for long-term patients. The nurses monitor these patients closely and there are systems to pick up non-attenders.

Updated 25 February 2016

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 homeless people, travellers and those with a learning disability.

• It offered longer appointments for people with a learning disability.

• 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.