The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Bridges Medical Practice

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

24 West Street, Gateshead, Tyne And Wear, NE8 1AD (0191) 478 7847

Provided and run by:
Dr Paul Evans

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile

All Inspections

10 January 2024

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out a targeted assessment of Bridges Medical Practice in relation to the responsive key question. This assessment was carried out on 10 January 2024 without a site visit. Overall, the practice is rated as Good. We rated the key question of responsive as Outstanding.

Safe - Good

Effective – Good

Caring - Good

Responsive – Outstanding

Well-led – Good

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for the

Bridges Medical Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this review.

We carried out this assessment as part of our work to understand how practices are working to try to meet demand for access and to better understand the experiences of people who use services and providers.

We recognise the work that GP practices have been engaged in to continue to provide safe, quality care to the people they serve. We know colleagues are doing this while demand for general practice remains exceptionally high, with more appointments being provided than ever. In this challenging context, access to general practice remains a concern for people. Our strategy makes a commitment to deliver regulation driven by people’s needs and experiences of care. These assessments of the responsive key question include looking at what practices are doing innovatively to improve patient access to primary care and sharing this information to drive improvement.

How we carried out the assessment

This assessment was carried remotely.

This included:

  • Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
  • Requesting evidence from the provider.

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

We found that:

We rated responsive as outstanding because;

  • The practice had a proactive approach to identifying the needs of patients and responding to them.
  • National GP Patient Survey data was consistently high over a number of years including during the COVID-19 restrictions. Data was consistently above local and national averages.
  • The practice worked with their patients and Patient Participation Group to identify where they might improve.
  • The practice implemented initiatives to improve phone and appointment access and worked towards continuous improvement.
  • The practice dealt with complaints in a timely manner and learned from them.

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 Health Care

29 April 2022

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced inspection at Bridges Medical Practice on 29 April 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as Good.

The ratings for each key question are:

Safe - Good

Effective - Good

Caring - Good

Responsive - Good

Well-led - Good

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Bridges Medical Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

This inspection was a comprehensive inspection as part of our inspection programme. This was the first inspection of this service under the new provider’s registration.

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
  • Staff questionnaires

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

We have rated this practice as Good overall

We found that:

  • 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. The practice had implemented a number of initiatives for their patients that had not yet been evaluated with regard to effectiveness.
  • Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
  • The practice was highly focussed in the way it delivered services to meet the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely and innovative way.
  • The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.
  • The practice recognised that they operated in an area of considerable deprivation and donated a percentage of profits to the local foodbank as well as collecting on their behalf all year round.
  • The practice had engaged with the local student population as there was a considerable number of students (approx. a thousand flats) in accommodation near the practice. They had provided an information pack which had been placed in the communal areas of the accommodation. They had also implemented a targeted young person for students only clinic on a Wednesday afternoon. The practice planned to audit the effectiveness of this initiative.

We found an area of outstanding practice;

  • During the COVID-19 pandemic the practice engaged with the population of Newcastle and Gateshead in order to increase the uptake of Covid-19 vaccinations, including for people who were not registered at the practice. This included vulnerable people who were not registered at any practice. They did this by posting on social media, engaging with local shops and pubs, including placing posters in the local area to signpost people to the practice to spread the word. They also reached out to refugee organisations and the local council to optimise the opportunity to let people know how to access the vaccine. This resulted in the administration of 695 vaccines over a period of 7/8 weeks, including for 257 people who were not registered at the practice.

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