Archived: The Bondgate Practice Also known as Longhoughton Surgery

Updated 29 October 2015

The Bondgate Practice covers a largely rural area. The main surgery is based in the centre of Alnwick, with branch surgeries in Seahouses, Embleton and Longhoughton. The three branches are dispensing practices. This means under certain criteria they can supply eligible patients with medicines directly.

The surgery in Alnwick is located alongside the local community hospital and another GP practice. All patient services are delivered from the ground floor and there are 18 consultation / treatment rooms. There are good access facilities for patients with disabilities.

The Seahouses branch is a purpose built facility shared with another practice. Some consultation and treatment rooms are shared with the other practice. There is a shared baby clinic, podiatry and physiotherapy clinic. There are good access facilities for patients with disabilities and services are delivered from the ground floor.

The Embleton branch is purpose built and based in a residential area, all facilities are on the ground floor. It has two consulting rooms, two treatment rooms and a large waiting area. There is good access and facilities for patients with disabilities.

The Longhoughton Surgery is based in a residential area of Longhoughton Medical services are provided to local people and to the families of those serving at a local RAF base. The premises is rented from the RAF and the rental agreement means that the practice are unable to make any changes to this property to make it more suitable as a location for delivering primary healthcare. There is limited access for patients with disabilities but the practice has made reasonable adjustments to allow patients to access this service.

The practices provide primary medical care services to patients within a 220 square mile area, living in the area including Alnwick, Glanton, and Alnmouth.

The provider is a partnership of six doctors. The practice provides services to approximately 8,900 patients of all ages. All patients registered can access services at the main surgery or any of the three branches. The practice is commissioned to provide services within a Personal Medical Services (PMS) Agreement with NHS England.

The practice also has a medicines manager, three practice nurses, three healthcare assistants, a practice manager, a reception manager, seven dispensers and 18 reception and administrative staff. The practice is a teaching practice. They have a foundation doctor and a GP registrar working at the practice. They also train and support final year medical students.

The service for patients requiring urgent medical attention out of hours is provided by Northern Doctors Urgent Care Ltd and the 111 service.

The addresses of the main surgery and branches are

• Main - Alnwick, Infirmary Close, Alnwick, Northumberland,NE66 2NL
• Branch - Seahouses Surgery, The Health Centre, James Street, Seahouses, Northumberland, NE68 7XZ
• Branch - Embleton Surgery, West View, Embleton, Northumberland, NE66 3XZ
• Branch - Longhoughton Surgery, 4-6 Portal Place, Longhoughton, Northumberland, NE66 3JN

This focused inspection relates to the three branch surgeries.

Updated 29 October 2015

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out a planned comprehensive inspection of The Bondgate Practices on 6 October 2014. We inspected all four locations registered with the Care Quality Commission. These were the Alnwick main surgery and the Seahouses, Embleton and Longhoughton branches.

We rated the practice overall as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

• The practice covered a large geographical and rural area; services had been designed to meet the needs of the local population.
• Feedback from patients was positive; they told us staff treated them with respect and kindness.
• Staff reported feeling supported and able to voice any concerns or make suggestions for improvement.
• The practices were clean and further work was planned to improve the approach to infection control.

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

Importantly, the provider must:

• Ensure that prescriptions are checked and signed by GPs before medicines are dispensed and issued to patients.

In addition the provider should:

• Ensure that blank prescriptions are stored and recorded in accordance with national guidance to reduce the risk of theft or misuse.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 8 January 2015

The practice was rated as good for the population group of people with long term conditions. Emergency processes were in place and referrals made for patients in this group that had sudden deterioration in health. This was supported by care plans for those patients whose long term conditions put them most at risk of deteriorating health and whose conditions were less well controlled.

When needed longer appointments and home visits were available. All patients had a named clinician and structured annual reviews to check their health and medication needs were being met. For those people with the most complex needs the named GP worked with relevant health care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

Updated 8 January 2015

The practice was rated as good for the population group of families, children and young people. Systems were in place for identifying and following up children living in disadvantaged circumstances and who were at risk. For example, for children who failed to attend for routine childhood immunisations. Immunisation rates were relatively high for all standard childhood immunisations. Appointments were available outside of school hours and premises were suitable for children and babies. We were provided with good examples of joint working with paediatricians, midwives and health visitors.

Updated 8 January 2015

The practice was rated as good for the care of older people. Nationally reported data showed the practice had good outcomes for conditions commonly found amongst older people. The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population. Older patients confirmed with us how they valued the care and treatment provided by the practice, particularly in relation to end of life care. There were care plans in place for the frailest older patients. All patients over the age of 75 had a named GP.

The practice was responsive to the needs of older people, including offering home visits for the most old and frail patients. There were good communication mechanisms with other providers of care and treatment for frail older patients, such as district nurses.

Updated 8 January 2015

The practice was rated as good for the population group of the working-age people (including those recently retired and students). The needs of the working –age, 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 a full range of health promotion and screening, which reflected the needs of this age group.

Updated 8 January 2015

The practice was rated as good for the population group of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).Data about the practice as a whole, in the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) demonstrated that 93.8% of people with physical or mental health conditions had received an offer of support and treatment within the last 15 months. 82.1% of patients with dementia had their care reviewed within the preceding 15 months.  The practice worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of people experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia.

The practice had signposted patients experiencing poor mental health to support groups, including Mind. The practice had a system in place to follow up on patients who had attended accident and emergency where there may have been mental health needs.

Updated 8 January 2015

The practice was rated as good for the population group of people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. The practice held a register of patients who may be more vulnerable, such as people with learning disabilities. The practice had carried out annual health checks and offered longer appointments for people with learning disabilities.

The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable people. 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 and out of hours.