GP surgery in Bilsthorpe trumps trend of waiting times and delays, says CQC

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said patients at Bilsthorpe Surgery “could access care and treatment in a timely way”, despite problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Most appointments were still telephone consultations, but face-to-face meetings with a GP could be arranged if necessary, a CQC inspector’s report said.

"Patients receive effective care and treatment that meets their needs,” the inspector noted.

"The culture of the practice, and the way it is led and managed, drives the delivery and improvement of high-quality, person-centred care.”

Such rich praise led to the CQC awarding the surgery an overall rating of ‘Good’, the same as it achieved the last time it was inspected, when under a different service provider, in 2016.

It also received ‘Good’ ratings again for all five categories of the inspection, which meant it was regarded as a safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led service.

The Mickledale Lane surgery, which is led by registered manager Dr Leah Robinson, was inspected via a site visit and video conferencing last month.

It falls within the Newark and Sherwood Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and is part of a wider network of seven practices that form the Sherwood Primary Care Network (PCN).

The CQC report revealed that the practice serves a higher rate of elderly patients than the local and national averages, and slightly more women than men.

It praised all staff, who “deal with patients with kindness and respect, and involve them in decisions about their care”.

"There is also an emphasis on staff wellbeing,” the report continued. “This was demonstrated through discussions with staff and evidence of appraisals.

"Staff are encouraged to develop, and are provided with training opportunities.”

The CQC inspector found only two areas that require improvement at the Bilsthorpe surgery.

One concerned the need to implement a formal review of prescribing and consultations by staff in advance clinical practice.

And the second related to updating and maintaining the practice’s website “to include appropriate support and information to patients”.