A Bournemouth GP practice has been rated outstanding for its management, training and community work by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), despite being in one of the most deprived areas in England.
Providence Surgery in Boscombe, Bournemouth, is in the top 1% of deprived areas in England. One-in-five registered patients are known to misuse drugs and/or alcohol, one in five cannot read or write well, and there is a higher than national average incidence of recorded crime and patients without a fixed abode.
Steve Field, the chief inspector of general practice said that there were four areas where the practice was particularly outstanding: specialist training, in-house services, visiting homeless people, and work with the local community.
All GPs had specialist training on substance misuse and detoxification protocols. The care for patients with mental health and/or substances misuse was shared with the mental health team, and detoxification programmes were offered at the practice, ensuring consistency of care.
The practice had in-house MRI scanning and X-ray services, as well as an ultrasound service that was developed and paid for by the practice. The ultrasound had a waiting time of just one week for a scan to be done.
In terms of community care, a GP from the practice visited the local night shelter for homeless people on Monday to Friday evenings to provide medical care.
Field also applauded the practice’s work with the local community, in particular the Boscombe Community Forum, to raise awareness of issues affecting the community and of what services are available to people.
See the full report here.
