We carried out an announced focused inspection at New Seaham Medical Group on 16 and 17 November 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as good.
Safe - good
Effective - good
Caring - not inspected, rating of good carried forward from previous inspection
Responsive - not inspected, rating of good carried forward from previous inspection
Well-led - good
Following our previous inspection on 19 January 2016 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 New Seaham Medical Group on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we carried out this inspection
We carried out this inspection in line with our inspection priorities. This inspection was a focused inspection looking at the key questions Safe, Effective and Well-led.
How we carried out the inspection
This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site.
This included:
- Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
- Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system (this was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements).
- 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 and
- information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.
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.
- Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
- 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 work on ways to improve cervical screening uptake.
- Follow up patients to check response to treatment within a week of an acute exacerbation of asthma.
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 Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services