23 January 2024
During an inspection looking at part of the service
We carried out an announced assessment of Blackheath Medical Centre on 23 January 2024 without a site visit. The assessment focused on the responsive key question.
Following our previous inspection on 10 May 2022 the practice was rated good overall and for all key questions. The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Blackheath Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
The practice continues to be rated as good overall as this was the rating given at the last comprehensive inspection.
Safe - not inspected, rating of good carried forward from previous inspection
Effective - not inspected, rating of good carried forward from previous inspection
Caring - not inspected, rating of good carried forward from previous inspection
Responsive - good
Well-led - not inspected, rating of good carried forward from previous inspection
The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Blackheath Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we carried out this inspection
We carried out a targeted assessment of the responsive key question. Targeted assessments enable us to focus on certain key questions to explore particular aspects of care.
How we carried out the assessment
• Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
• Requesting evidence from the provider.
• Reviewing patient feedback from a range of sources
• Reviewing data we hold about the service
Our findings
We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:
- what we found when we inspected
- information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
- information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.
We found that:
- Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way and the provider had implemented systems and processes as a result of patient feedback.
- National GP patient survey results relating to access had improved and were above national averages.
- Complaints were handled in a timely manner.
Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:
- Update the practice website to include all information to support patients with access to the service.
- Take action to provide patients with all information with regards options for raising concerns about the service.
Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.
Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA
Chief Inspector of Health Care