Helix Medical Centre

Updated 5 June 2018

• The registered provider of the service is Dr J Takhar
• The address of the registered provider is Parsonage Surgery, Herts and Essex Community Hospital, Cavell Drive, Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM23 5JH
• The practice website is www.parsonagesurgery.co.uk 
• Services are provided on a General Medical Services (GMS) contract (a nationally agreed contract) to approximately 5,700 patients.
• The service is registered with the CQC to provide the following services:
• Diagnostic and screening procedures
• Treatment of disease, disorder or injury
• Maternity and midwifery services
• Family planning
• Surgical procedures

This practice is located in the grounds of Herts and Essex Community Hospital and benefits from onsite parking which is pay and display. Adequate parking is also available for those patients with mobility issues. The practice population is predominantly white British along with a small ethnic population. The practice serves a higher than average population of those aged 18 years and under and a lower than average population of those aged 65 years and over. The area served is less deprived compared to England as a whole.

The practice team consists of one male GP Partner and one female GP Partner. The practice has one nurse prescriber, one practice nurse, one healthcare assistant, a practice manager and a team of administrative and reception staff members.

Home visits are available to those patients who are unable to attend the surgery. The Out of Hours service is provided by Herts Urgent Care and can be accessed via the NHS 111 service.

Updated 5 June 2018

This practice is rated as Good overall.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Parsonage Surgery on 10 May 2018 as part of our regulatory functions.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.
• Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. Results from the latest National GP Patient Survey showed patients were satisfied with their interactions with reception staff and consultations with GPs and nurses.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
• There were clear responsibilities, roles and systems of accountability to support good governance and management. However, at the time of inspection the practice did not have clear records of staff vaccinations, a system to ensure non-clinical staff members were aware of risks to patients from sepsis and the practice did not have a clear arrangements in place to review the emergency medicines stocked.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Complete the review of the immunisation status of all staff members and ensure a documented process to evidence compliance.
• Review the process in place to ensure all relevant staff members are aware of risk to patients, such as sepsis.
• Review the suitability of emergency medicines stocked at the practice.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 5 June 2018

Updated 5 June 2018

Updated 5 June 2018

Updated 5 June 2018

Updated 5 June 2018

Updated 5 June 2018