We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Brondesbury Medical Centre on 8 January 2019 as part of our inspection programme.

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 and good for all population groups.

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.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

• Continue to review ways to improve the uptake of cervical screening.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

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 Brondesbury Medical Centre on 21 October 2014. This is the only location operated by the provider. 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 older people, people with long term conditions, families, children and young people, working age people, people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable and people experiencing poor mental health. Our key findings were as follows:

• There were arrangements in place to ensure patients were kept safe.
• Patient’s needs were assessed and care was delivered in line with current best practice guidelines.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion and kindness and that they were involved in care and treatment decisions.
• Information about services and how to complain were available and easy to understand.
• The practice had a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported in their roles by the management team.
• The practice gathered feedback from patients and acted on it to improve services.

We saw some areas of outstanding practice including:

• Participation in pilot schemes including the ‘Patient Partner’ system that enabled patients to book, cancel and check appointments using their telephone keypad 24 hours a day.
• Employing a practice care co-ordinator to support the needs and optimise management of the patient population.

However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

The provider must:

• Review the protocols and documentation of temperature monitoring for all clinical fridges to ensure that national guidance is followed.
• Ensure that all staff called upon to act in the role as a chaperone have undertaken a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, and have undergone appropriate training.

The provider should:

• Implement regular fire drills.
• Implement formal health care associated infection control training for all staff.
• Review the specimen drop-off point in the reception area to ensure that patient confidentiality is always maintained.
• Review the positioning of sharps bins in all consultation rooms to ensure that they are all safely located.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice