Archived: The Cambridge Practice

Updated 28 August 2018

The Cambridge Practice is situated in Aldershot, a town located to in North East Hampshire, which is known as the ‘home to the British Army’. It is comprised of a main location within the Aldershot Centre for Health and a branch site located two miles away.

The Cambridge Practice is located at:

Aldershot Centre for Health

Hospital Hill

Aldershot

Hampshire

GU11 1AY.

The branch site is located at:

276 Lower Farnham Road

Aldershot

Hampshire

GU11 3RB.

The local clinical commissioning group (CCG) is the NHS North East Hampshire and Farnham CCG. The Cambridge Practice is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide regulated activities for the treatment of disease, disorder or injury, surgical procedures, diagnostic and screening procedures, maternity and midwifery services and family planning. The practice provides health services to approximately 23,000 registered patients.

The practice has eight GP partners, ten salaried GPs and one GP retainer; there are seven male and twelve female GPs. There are two advanced nurse practitioners, five practice nurses and four health care assistants. The clinical team are supported by an administrative team which includes a practice manager, a business manager, and an assistant practice manager as well as reception and administration staff. The practice is also a training practice providing placements for GP registrars, physician assistants, medical students and paramedics.

The practice is open from 8am until 6.30pm Monday to Friday. Extended hours appointments are offered at both sites on Mondays from 6.30pm until 8.00pm, Wednesdays from 7.00am to 8.00am and from 6.30pm to 8.00pm, Thursdays from 7.30am to 8.00am and the mornings of the second and fifth Saturdays in a month.

When the practice is closed out of hours services are provided by North Hampshire Urgent Care. Patients are advised to call 111 to access this on the practice’s answerphone.

Updated 28 August 2018

Overall, the practice is rated as Good.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 23 March 2017

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.
• A health promotion was held in a local shopping centre to assess and screen people for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, (a chronic lung disease). Patients were able to be assessed and screened for the disease and able to receive lung function testing. Appropriate patients were referred to their own GP for further investigation. The event was held on a Saturday morning to ensure working age people were able to receive the benefit of this initiative.
• The percentage of patients registered with the practice with COPD who had a review undertaken including an assessment of breathlessness in the preceding 12 months (2015 - 2016) was 94% compared to a local average of 91% and a national average of 90%.
• The practice had ensured that their Nepalese registered patients with diabetes were able to receive education to manage their condition by tailoring care to meet their needs. For example, an education programme delivered in their language.
• The percentage of patients with diabetes, on the register, in whom the last blood
• Pressure reading (measured in the preceding 12 months) was within target range was 81% compared to a local average of 76% and a national average of 78%.
• 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 23 March 2017

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 85% which was similar to the CCG and national average of 82%.
• Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies.
• The practice had recognised that there was a high incidence of obesity within the young population. Work on a self-awareness educational programme for school children up to the age of 10 was in progress in an attempt to address this. Health promotional education bags had been compiled, consisting of health promotion advice, water bottles, tissues and other items and 3600 bags had been distributed to children. We saw that plans were progressing to also visit local schools to deliver health promotion advice.

Updated 23 March 2017

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.
• Through the practices We Care project, patients over 75 years old who were living alone were identified and provided additional support where appropriate to maintain quality of life and independent living.

Updated 23 March 2017

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.
• Extended hours surgeries were held at both sites, with early morning and late evening appointments as well as every second and fifth Saturday morning of the month.
• Health promotion events were held at times convenient to working people, for example the respiratory screening event.

Updated 23 March 2017

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

• 96% of patients diagnosed with dementia that had their care reviewed in a face to face meeting in the last 12 months, which was better than the local average of 86% and national average of 84%.
• 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. The nurse practitioner had received additional dementia awareness training and the practice was working towards becoming a dementia friendly practice.

Updated 23 March 2017

The practice is rated as outstanding 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.
• The practice offered longer appointments for patients with a learning disability. A learning disabilities care plan and consultation template had been developed by the practice and shared with other practices within the CCG. The nurse practitioner carried out learning disability health checks, new patients attended for one hour and follow up appointments were for 45 minutes.
• The practice regularly worked with other health care professionals in the case management of vulnerable patients. A community project, called We Care linked health care workers and encouraged effective joint working to support patients identified as vulnerable within their practice population. Cohorts of patients were identified as vulnerable and who may benefit from additional support. A needs assessment was undertaken and problems were identified for 150 patients in a short space of time. Patients were then signposted to appropriate services for help.
• Non English speaking Nepalese patients had been identified as a vulnerable group. The practice had worked with members of the Nepalese community to develop a health promotion DVD on chronic disease, male health, female health, drugs and alcohol to overcome the barriers of delivering health promotion messages to these 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.