Archived: Dr Arif Supple Also known as Brook Health Centre

Updated 15 October 2015

Dr Arif Supple also known as The Brook Health Centre provides a range of primary medical services to the residents of Towcester and surrounding villages. The practice has a branch surgery with a dispensary in the village of Silverstone which was not inspected as part of this inspection.

The practice population is pre-dominantly White British covering all ages. National data indicates the area is one of low deprivation. The practice has approximately 8500 patients who can be seen at either Brook Health Centre or Silverstone Surgery. Services are provided under a primary medical services contract (PMS).

There is a principal GP, male, who manages the practice. There are three salaried GPs, two female and one male. The nursing team consisted of a nurse practitioner, two nurse prescribers, a practice nurse and three phlebotomists. There are also a number of reception and administration staff led by a practice manager and office manager.

The practice is open between 8am and 6.30pm Monday to Friday and offers extended opening on Mondays and Tuesdays from 7.30am and Saturdays from 8.30am to 12pm. The Silverstone branch surgery offers extended opening on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 7.30am.

When the practice is closed out-of-hours services are provided by the Northamptonshire GP Out of Hours service which is run by Integrated Care 24 and can be accessed via the NHS 111 service.

Updated 15 October 2015

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Arif Supple on 12 August 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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 found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that there was continuity of care, 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 it acted on.

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

Importantly the provider should

• Carry our regular fire drills.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 15 October 2015

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. Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed. All these patients had a named GP and a structured annual review to check that their health and medication needs were being met. For those people with the most complex needs, the named GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

Updated 15 October 2015

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. Appointments were available outside of school hours and sick children were offered urgent appointments at any time of the day. The premises were suitable for children and babies. We saw good examples of joint working with midwives, health visitors and school nurses who all attended multi-disciplinary team meetings with the practice.

Updated 15 October 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people. Nationally reported data showed that outcomes for patients were good for conditions commonly found in older people. The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population and had a range of enhanced services, for example, in dementia and end of life care. It was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and rapid access appointments for those with enhanced needs.

Updated 15 October 2015

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. Telephone consultations were available as well as extended opening hours.

Updated 15 October 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia). The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of people experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia. It 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. It had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency (A&E) where they may have been experiencing poor mental health. The practice kept a record on cancelled appointments so they could track these patients and contact them if necessary. They promoted the use of a positive mental training programme and loaned CDs to patients to access this.

Updated 15 October 2015

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. It had carried out annual health checks for people with a learning disability and offered longer appointments.

The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable people. It had told 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.

The practice had a carers’ lead and hosted an annual carers’ afternoon to provide support and advice to this group of patients.