Dr Patel and Partners

Updated 29 September 2017

The provider, Dr Patel & Partners, provides services for 13,042 within the Rotherham CCG under a Personal Medical Services (PMS) contract. The patient population is comparable to the national average and the practice is situated in one of the fourth most deprived areas nationally.

Services are provided from two sites which we visited as part of this inspection:

Main Site:

Broom Lane Medical Centre, 70 Broom Lane Rotherham, S60 3EW. Telephone, 01709 724738

Branch site:

Kimberworth Park Medical Centre, Langdon Road, Rotherham S61 3QH. Telephone, 01709 551157

There is car parking including disabled care parking and easy access for wheelchairs and disabled toilet facilities.

This is a training Practice for qualified doctors who are training to become GPs.

The clinical team comprises of seven GP partners, five male and two female, and one male and two female salaried GPs. There is also a senior practice nurse, three practice nurses and three health care assistants. They are supported by a practice manager and a deputy manager, two reception supervisors and a large administration and reception team.

The practice is open 8am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, at both sites.

Appointments are generally available between 8.30am and 11am and 3pm to 5.50pm depending on the GP to be seen.

Extended hours are available at the main site each week, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 7.30am to 8.am and monthly on Mondays 6.30pm to 8.30pm at the branch site.

The practice manages a Saturday morning surgery for 31 other surgeries in the Rotherham area from 8am to 11am. Appointments are available to be pre-booked via the patient’s own practice.

Out-of-hours service can be accessed by telephoning the normal surgery telephone number.

Updated 29 September 2017

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Patel and Partners on 18 October 2016. The overall rating for the practice was Good but with Requires Improvement for safety. The full comprehensive report on the October 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Dr Patel and Partners on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This inspection was an announced focused inspection carried out on 9 August 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulations that we identified in our previous inspection on 18 October 2016. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also additional improvements made since our last inspection.

Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

• Staff had completed safeguarding training and GPs were trained to child safeguarding level three and nurses to level two.

• Staff had completed infection prevention and control (IPC) training and clinical staff had completed training to level two.

• New flooring was fitted in rooms used to carry out treatments, such as cytology and phlebotomy.

• Storage of clinical waste in the practice had been risk assessed and some action had been taken to minimise risks.

• Arrangements for storage and transportation of blank prescription forms had been risk assessed and procedures brought into line with NHS Protect: Security of prescription forms guidance.

• The provider had implemented NICE guidelines in relation to disposal of sharps boxes.

• Staff immunity status was obtained for all staff in line with the recommendations.

• The provider had provided basic life support training for all staff and made arrangements to provide this training annually.

• The practice had reviewed the arrangements for provision and storage of emergency medicines to minimise the risk of confusion in an emergency situation.

• The provider had reviewed and improved systems to identify patients as carers. A member of staff from the staff reception team had taken responsibility to improve systems to identify carers. They had widely advertised for carers to identify themselves to the practice through posters and reception staff prompts and recorded this role on patient notes. At the last inspection they had only identified 59 patients as carers but since the last inspection they had identified 773 carers which equated to 5.9% of the patient population.

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

The provider should:

• Provide evidence of, at least weekly, checks of emergency equipment.

• Maintain a record of fire alarm testing at the branch site.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 13 December 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions.

• Nursing staff had lead roles in long term condition management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority.
• Performance for diabetes was 78%, 6% lower than the CCG average and 12% lower than the national average. The practice told us some of their patient population did not engage fully with reviews for diabetes and other long term conditions and this was a challenge for the practice. The practice had very low exception rates in all areas and was below the local and national averages. The practice had an overall exception rate of 5% which was 5% below national average. (Exception reporting is the removal of patients from QOF calculations where, for example, the patients are unable to attend a review meeting or certain medicines cannot be prescribed because of side effects).
• Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed.
• All these patients had a named GP and a structured annual review to check their health and medicines needs were being met. For those patients with the most complex needs, the named GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

Updated 13 December 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. 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.
• The practice’s uptake for the cervical screening programme was 82%, which was the same as the CCG and the national average.
• Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies.
• We saw positive examples of joint working with midwives and health visitors.

Updated 13 December 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.
• The practice was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs.

Updated 13 December 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 13 December 2016

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

• Performance for mental health had improved significantly from 82% in 2014/15 to 95% in 2015/16 and was 3% above CCG average and 2% above the national average.
• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of patients experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia.
• The practice 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.
• The practice 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 patients with mental health needs and dementia.

Updated 13 December 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 those with a learning disability.
• The practice offered longer appointments for patients with a learning disability.
• The practice regularly worked with other health care professionals in the case management of vulnerable patients.
• The practice informed 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.