Courtfield Private Practice

Updated 6 July 2022

Background to Courtfield Private Practice Limited

Courtfield Private Practice operates under the provider Courtfield Private Practice Ltd. The provider is registered with the Care Quality Commission to carry out the regulated activities of treatment of disease, disorder or injury and diagnostic and screening procedures.

The service consists of one male and one female GP Director and six GP associates (five female, one male). There is a practice manager, a finance manager and a team of reception and administrative staff. The service is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:00am, Wednesday 7:30am and Saturday from 8:30am to 1:00pm. The service closes on Monday at 8:30pm, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 6:30pm and Wednesday at 8:30pm. Appointments last for half an hour and appointment times are as follows:

• Monday 8:30am to 1:00pm and 3:00pm to 7:00pm
• Tuesday 8:30am to 1:00pm and 2:30pm and 6:00pm
• Wednesday 7:30am to 1:00pm and 2:30pm to 8:00pm
• Thursday 8:30am to 1:00pm and 2:30pm 6:00pm
• Friday 8:30am to 1:00pm and 2:30pm to 6:00pm
• Saturday 8:30am to 1:00pm

The service uses a separate organisation to provide out of hours care to its patients. Patient records are all computer based. The service refers patients when necessary to other private and NHS providers as well as back to patients’ NHS GP.

How we inspected this service

Before our inspection, we gathered and reviewed information from a number of sources including information submitted by the provider.

During our inspection, we spoke with staff, reviewed clinical records and reviewed documents.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?
• Is it effective?
• Is it caring?
• Is it responsive to people’s needs?
• Is it well-led?

These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 6 July 2022

This service is rated as Good overall (last inspection September 2018, unrated).

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 Courtfield Private Practice Limited on 23 May 2022 as part of our inspection programme.

Courtfield Private Practice consists of a group of private General Practitioners working from modern premises in South Kensington, London. In addition to routine family practice, the service has expertise in paediatrics as well as health screening for men and women.

Dr Tim Ladbrooke is 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.

Our key findings were:

• There was an open culture in which safety concerns raised by staff and people who used services were highly valued as integral to learning and improvement.

• Clinical audits were carried out and all relevant staff were involved. Opportunities to participate in benchmarking, peer review and accreditation were proactively pursued.

• People had comprehensive assessments of their needs, which included consideration of clinical needs, mental health, physical health and wellbeing.

• Monitoring and reviewing activity enabled staff to understand risks and gave a clear, accurate and current picture of safety. For example, a December 2021 risk assessment regarding a bacterium called Legionella (which can proliferate in building water systems) identified that cold-water tanks required cleaning and disinfecting. We noted the six-month time scale for undertaking these works.

• Safeguarding vulnerable adults, children and young people was given priority.

• Leadership, practice management and governance arrangements drove the delivery of high-quality person-centred care.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Continue to monitor and act on Legionella risks.

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