Litfield House Medical Centre

Updated 22 May 2019

Beard Medical Practice LLP which is also known as Beard Medical Practice, has two GP partners and provides a range of general practice services including sexual health screening, pathology testing, travel advice and vaccinations and occupational medicine. Beard Medical Practice do not directly employ any of the staff at Litfield House Medical Centre, the centre provides reception staff as part of the room rental fee. The centre also employs a business manager who ensures Health and Safety requirements are met and that all staff at the building are appropriately trained and when necessary have a disclosure and barring service check (DBS).

The practice delivers services to its patients at the following address:

1 Litfield Place,

Clifton Down,

Bristol,

BS8 3LS

Information about the practice can be obtained on their website at:

Updated 22 May 2019

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Beard Medical Practice LLP on 11 April 2019 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether Beard Medical Practice LLP was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and to provide a rating for the practice.

Beard Medical Practice provides a range of general practice services including sexual health screening, pathology testing, travel advice and vaccinations and occupational medicine. The service is predominately aimed at people who are working and who cannot get an appointment at their registered GP which suits their working pattern; people who are visiting Bristol who may need an appointment when away from their NHS GP, or overseas students in the Bristol area. The service is also registered as a mobile doctors’ service providing a service for home visits for any patients who are unable to attend the practice. Patients are able to book private appointments by telephone or via the practice website. All patients are required to complete a comprehensive health questionnaire/declaration prior to their appointment.

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. There are some exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of service and these are set out in of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. At Beard Medical Practice services are provided to patients under arrangements made by their employer; a government department or an insurance company with whom the servicer user holds a policy (other than a standard health insurance policy. These types of arrangements are exempt by law from CQC regulation. Therefore, at Beard Medical Practice, we only inspected the services which are not arranged for patients by their employers; a government department or an insurance company with whom the patient holds a policy (other than a standard health insurance policy).

Beard Medical Practice has two GPs partners with one partner who is also the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The practice provides services from a rented room at Litfield House Medical Centre.

As part of our inspection we asked for Care Quality Commission comment cards to be completed by patients prior to our inspection visit. All of the 33 comment cards we received were positive and complimentary about the caring nature of the service provided by the practice. We also spoke with one patient during our inspection and their views was aligned with the patient views expressed in the comment cards. All of the feedback from patients indicated they were satisfied with the care provided by the practice.

Our key findings were :

• There was a transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording incidents.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• The practice had one consultation room which was well organised and equipped.
• There were systems in place to check all equipment had been serviced and calibrated regularly.
• Clinicians regularly assessed patients according to appropriate guidance and standards such as those issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
• The partners maintained the necessary skills and competence to support the needs of patients.
• The partners were up to date with current guidelines and held regular meetings to discuss complex cases.
• Risks to patients were well managed for example, there were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection.
• The provider was aware of, and complied with, the requirements of the Duty of Candour.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP
Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care