This practice is rated as Good overall.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:

Older People – Good

People with long-term conditions – Good

Families, children and young people – Good

Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good

People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good

People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Birtley Medical Group on 14 March 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had systems in place to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen.
• The practice could demonstrate effective clinical audit and quality improvement activity that led to improvements in patient care and outcomes
• The practice ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
• The practice monitored and responded to the needs of their patient population. They had introduced extended opening hours to reflect the needs of patients who worked and reviewed the way in which they delivered care and treatment to their older and housebound patients.

There were areas where the provider should make improvements:

• Consider offering all carer’s registered with the practice an annual health check
• Review access arrangements for patients with mobility issues
• Review the risk assessment supporting the decision not to hold a supply of recommended emergency medicines on the premises.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Birtley Medical Group on 13 January 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing safe, well-led, effective, caring and responsive services. It was also good for providing services for the following population groups: Older people; People with long-term conditions; Families, children and young people; Working age people (including those recently retired and students); People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable; People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

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

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• 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 were able to get an appointment with a GP when they needed one, 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 they acted on.

However there was one area of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

The provider should

• Ensure that all clinical audits completed measure whether agreed standards are being achieved, and make recommendations and take action where standards are not being met. Three of the seven audits we reviewed included repeat audit cycles, where the practice was able to demonstrate the changes resulting since the initial audits had been carried out. Not all of the clinical audits completed measured whether agreed standards had been achieved or made recommendations and took action where standards were not being met.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice