Launceston Medical Centre

Updated 2 October 2023

Launceston Medical Centre is located in Launceston at:

Landlake Road

Launceston

Cornwall

PL15 9HH

The practice has an on-site dispensary service, which we visited as part of this inspection.

The provider is registered with CQC to deliver the Regulated Activities: diagnostic and screening procedures, maternity and midwifery services and treatment of disease, disorder or injury, family planning and surgical procedures.

The practice is situated within the Kernow Integrated Care System (ICS) and delivers General Medical Services (GMS) to a patient population of about 19,000. This is part of a contract held with NHS England.

The practice is part of a wider network of GP practices known as Tamar Valley Primary Care Network.

Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the fifth lowest decile (5 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others.

According to the latest available data, the ethnic makeup of the practice area is 98.1% White, 0.9% Asian, and 1% Mixed.

The age distribution of the practice population closely mirrors the local and national averages.

There is a team of 16 GPs who provide medical care and treatment. The practice has a team of 8 nurses, including nurse practitioners, a minor illness nurse, and practice nurses who are supported by 4 health care assistants and 2 phlebotomists to provide nurse-led clinics, care and treatment within the practice. There are 4 duty practitioners (paramedics) who see patients both in the practice and during home visits. The GPs are supported at the practice by a team of reception/administration staff. The practice manager and operations manager are providing managerial oversight.

The practice is open between 8 am to 6.30 pm, Monday to Friday. The practice offers a range of appointment types, including book on the day, telephone consultations, and advance appointments.

Extended access is provided locally by an external GP provider where patients can book video consultations with a GP 24 hours a day. Out-of-hours services are provided by NHS111.

Updated 2 October 2023

We carried out an announced focused inspection at Launceston Medical Centre on 1 August 2023. Overall, the practice is rated as good.

Safe - good

Effective - good

Caring - good

Responsive - requires improvement

Well-led - requires improvement

Following our previous inspection on 16 February 2022, the practice was rated requires improvement overall and for the safe and well-led key questions. The caring and responsive were rated as good.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Launceston Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

We carried out this inspection to follow up breaches of regulation from a previous inspection in line with our inspection priorities.

How we carried out the inspection/review

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site.

This included:

• Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing and during the inspection.
• Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system (this was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements).
• Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider.
• Requesting evidence from the provider.
• A short site visit.

Our findings

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

• what we found when we inspected
• information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We found that:

• The practice had systems to provide care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm. However, not all systems had been consistently followed. For example, we saw gaps in the monitoring of some patients prescribed certain medicines.
• Patients generally received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• The provider had implemented systems to increase access to care and treatment for patients.
• The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of quality, person-centred care.

The provider should:

• Improve systems to record full details within the medicine reviews for patients.
• Consistently follow the processes and systems for monitoring patients who are prescribed certain medicines which require additional monitoring. Continue to embed safeguarding level 3 training for all clinicians.
• Continue to develop systems and processes to improve the delivery of NHS health checks to those patients who were identified as eligible.
• Continue to take action to increase the cervical screening provided to patients.
• Continue to take action to increase the take up of baby and children’s immunisations.
• Continue to embed systems and processes to improve access for patients to the practice.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Health Care