Old Bridge Surgery

Updated 30 January 2018

Old Bridge Surgery is situated in the coastal town of Looe. Old Bridge Surgery is comprised of three sites in Looe, Polperro and Pelynt.

The practice provides a primary medical service to approximately 9,500 patients of a diverse age group. The 2011 census data showed that majority of the local population identified themselves as being White British.

There is a team of five GP partners, three female and two male; the partners are supported by two salaried GPs and a specialist GP in training. The whole time equivalent is five. The GP team are supported by a practice manager, an administration manager, a project supports manager, three practice nurses, two advanced nurse practitioners, five health care assistants and additional administration staff. There are also two dispensing staff based at the Pelynt branch dispensary.

Patients using the practice also have access to health visitors, counsellors, carer support workers, district nurses, and midwives and other care professionals visited the practice on a regular basis.

The practice is open from 8.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday. Appointments are offered between those times. Extended hours are worked on Wednesday from 7am until 8am. Evening telephone appointments are offered on a daily basis from 6.30pm until 8pm. Outside of these times including from 8am to 8.30am and 6 to 6:30pm, patients are directed to contact the out of hour’s service and the NHS 111 number. This is in line with local contract arrangements.

The practice offers a range of appointment types including face to face same day appointments, telephone consultations and advance appointments (six weeks in advance) as well as online services such as repeat prescriptions.

The practice has a General Medical Services (GMS) contract with NHS England.

This report relates to the regulatory activities being carried out at the following three sites:

Old Bridge Surgery

Station Road

East Looe

Cornwall

PL13 1HA

Pelynt Branch Surgery

Summer Lane

Pelynt

Cornwall

PL13 2LP

Polperro Branch Surgery

The Coombes

Polperro

Cornwall

PL13 2RQ

We visited all three of these sites during our inspection.

Updated 30 January 2018

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection February 2015 – Good)

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 Old Bridge Surgery on 12 December 2017 as part of our planned inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It 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.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

We saw two areas of outstanding practice:

Patients with learning disabilities were offered and provided a health check every year during which their long term care plans were discussed with the patient and their carer if appropriate. The practice had supported one of the nurses to become a learning disability specialist. This nurse ensured all patients with learning disabilities had regular check-ups and had also set up and led a group of volunteers to support patients with learning disabilities. This included organised field trips, activities and days out every three weeks. The practice had won a local award for outstanding contribution to supporting patients with learning disabilities. Positive benefits and impact upon this group of patients included opportunities to get out of their care setting and explore the wider world.

Patient under witness protection programmes, with significant health needs, were registered using the practice address by arrangement with the police. This procedure was used when patients were in fear of being traced. For example, following incidents of domestic violence. Positive benefits and impact upon this group of patients included peace of mind with reduced risk of being traced.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

The practice should ensure that all of its infection control protocols including hand washing techniques and laundering of uniforms were reviewed on an annual basis.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 30 January 2018

Updated 30 January 2018

Updated 30 January 2018

Updated 30 January 2018

Updated 30 January 2018

Updated 30 January 2018