Soho Square General Practice

Updated 31 December 2021

Soho Square General Practice is located in London at:

1 Frith Street

London

W1D 3HZ

The provider is registered with CQC to deliver the Regulated Activities; diagnostic and screening procedures, maternity and midwifery services and treatment of disease disorder or injury.

The practice is situated within the North West London Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and delivers Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS) to a patient population of about 5,600. This is part of a contract held with NHS England.

The practice is part of a wider network of eight GP practices known as West End and Marylebone Primary Care Network.

Information published by Public Health England shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the fifth decile (five of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others.

According to the latest available data, the ethnic make-up of the practice area is 66% White, 20% Asian, 4% Black, 5% Mixed, and 5% Other.

The leadership team consisted of a chief medical officer who was the lead GP. The lead GP was supported by a chief officer and a director of operations who both provided managerial oversight. The leadership team were supported by three salaried GPs, a long-term locum GP, an advanced nurse practitioner, a practice nurse, a long-term locum nurse, a health care assistant, an office manager and a small team of reception / administration staff.

Due to the enhanced infection prevention and control measures put in place since the pandemic and in line with the national guidance, most GP appointments were telephone consultations. If the GP needs to see a patient face-to-face then the patient is offered an appointment at the practice.

Extended access is provided locally at a hub location, where late evening and weekend appointments are available.

Updated 31 December 2021

We carried out an announced inspection at Soho Square General Practice on 11 November 2021. Overall, the practice is rated as Good.

Safe - Good.

Effective - Good.

Caring - Good.

Responsive - Good.

Well-led - Good.

Why we carried out this inspection

This inspection was a comprehensive inspection as the new provider had not been inspected. We looked at all five key questions.

How we carried out the inspection

Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.

This included:

• Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing
• Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system and discussing findings with the provider
• Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider
• Requesting evidence from the provider
• A short site visit

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.
• Information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as Good overall

We found that:

• The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• The practice adjusted how it delivered services to meet the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• The practice provided additional information and support for the high proportion of Chinese and LGBT+ patients registered with the practice.
• The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

• Continue to monitor and improve uptake rates for childhood immunisations and cervical screening.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care