Archived: Dr Howard and Partners Also known as Pemberley Surgery

Updated 21 March 2017

Dr Howard & Partners is also known as Pemberley Surgery and provides a range of primary medical services, including minor surgical procedures from its location on Pemberley Avenue on the periphery of Bedford town centre. The practice holds a General Medical Services (GMS) contract for providing services, which is a nationally agreed contract between general practices and NHS England for delivering general medical services to local communities.

The practice serves a population of approximately 9,500 patients with higher than average populations of females aged 45 to 49 years and higher than average populations of males aged 65-69 years. There are 36 local residential, care and nursing homes with patients registered at the practice. The practice population is largely White British. National data indicates the area served is one of average deprivation in comparison to England as a whole.

The clinical team consists of two female and four male GP partners, two GP registrars two trainee doctors, one nurse practitioner, four practice nurses and a health care assistant. (GP registrars are qualified doctors training to become GPs).The team is supported by a practice manager and a team of administrative staff.

The practice operates from a three storey converted property and patient consultations and treatments take place on the ground level and first floor. There is a car park to the rear of the surgery for staff, with designated disabled parking available for patients.

Dr Howard & Partners is open between 8am and 6.30pm Monday to Friday. In addition, pre-bookable appointments are available from 7am on Tuesdays and on Thursday evenings until 7.30pm.

The out of hours service is provided by BEDOC (Bedfordshire Doctors On Call) and can be accessed via the NHS 111 service. Information about this is available in the practice and on the practice website and telephone line.

Updated 21 March 2017

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Howard and Partners on 21 June 2016. The overall rating for the practice was good, however a breach of legal requirements was found. After the comprehensive inspection, the practice wrote to us and submitted an action plan outlining the actions they would take to meet legal requirements in relation to;

• Regulation 12 Health & Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 – safe care and treatment.

From the inspection on 21 June 2016, the practice were told they must:

• Ensure a robust system is implemented to ensure that safety alerts are actioned appropriately by a suitably trained and competent person. Records of alerts received and action taken must be kept to demonstrate compliance.

In addition, the practice were told they should:

• Develop systems to identify and support more carers in their patient population.
• Continue to monitor recently adopted procedures for managing blank prescriptions.

The full comprehensive report on the June 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Dr Howard and Partners on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This inspection was a focused follow up carried out on 7 February 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breach in regulations that we identified in our previous inspection on 21 June 2016. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and improvements made since our last inspection.

Overall the practice is now rated as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

• Systems had been improved to ensure that appropriate action was taken in response to safety alerts to reduce risks to patient safety. Records of alerts received and action taken were kept securely.
• Blank prescription forms were stored securely and processes were in place to record and track prescriptions within the practice.
• The practice had identified 180 patients as carers (2%) and was actively working to support them.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 21 March 2017

Following our comprehensive inspection on 21 June 2016 we rated the practice as good for the population group of people with long-term conditions. We did not review any evidence during our desk based review to alter this rating.

Updated 21 March 2017

Following our comprehensive inspection on 21 June 2016 we rated the practice as good for the population group of families, children and young people. We did not review any evidence during our desk based review to alter this rating.

Updated 21 March 2017

Following our comprehensive inspection on 21 June 2016 we rated the practice as good for the population group of older people. We did not review any evidence during our desk based review to alter this rating.

Updated 21 March 2017

Following our comprehensive inspection on 21 June 2016 we rated the practice as good for the population group of working age people (including those recently retired and students). We did not review any evidence during our desk based review to alter this rating.

Updated 21 March 2017

Following our comprehensive inspection on 21 June 2016 we rated the practice as good for the population group of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia). We did not review any evidence during our desk based review to alter this rating.

Updated 21 March 2017

Following our comprehensive inspection on 21 June 2016 we rated the practice as good for the population group of people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. We did not review any evidence during our desk based review to alter this rating.