Burnham and Berrow Medical Centre achieves ‘Good’ CQC rating

Healthcare services at Burnham and Berrow Medical Centre, part of Symphony Healthcare Services, has been rated ‘Good’ in all elements (safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs and well-led) following an announced comprehensive CQC inspection on 13 September.

The inspection report, published last week, sets out the significant improvements that have been made since the previous inspection in November 2022, and the inspection report of January 2023, when urgent conditions were applied to the practice after it was rated inadequate overall.

Photo shows the Burnham and Berrow Medical Centre team.

During the recent visit, inspectors 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.

The improvement in quality-of-care ratings, follows the integration of Burnham and Berrow Medical Centre into Symphony Healthcare Services in April this year and is a tribute to the hard work of the practice team and wider support team in our Symphony subsidiary.

Jon Adams, Business Practice Manager for Burnham and Berrow Medical Centre said: “We’re really delighted with the latest inspection ratings, and it’s great to see that everyone’s hard work within the practice can be seen in the results.

“Over the last year, we have worked incredibly hard to make significant improvements at the practice; we have introduced new systems and processes such as ‘AskMyGP’ to enable patients to contact the practice more easily, we’ve recruited additional clinicians, including two new GPs and additional nurse practitioners, introduced a new patient recall system, relaunched our Patient Participation Group, and we’ve supported additional training and development for our teams.

“We’ve seen a lot of changes over the past year, and despite the huge challenges that the practice has faced, we have been heartened by the support that we have received from the practice team, our Patient Participation Group, our patients, health and care colleagues, and the local community and we are truly thankful.

“We’re very proud of the team at Burnham and Berrow who have approached every new challenge with enthusiasm and commitment and we’re now excited at what the future may bring.”

Since the last inspection report, the practice team have introduced a number of new ways to improve the support and care for people with long-term health conditions, one of the core areas of improvement identified in the previous inspection report.

Lead nurse, Lucy Brotherton, who has been leading on the project explained: “We know how important it is to support our patients who have long-term health conditions, to stay well as much as possible.

“Over the last few months, we have introduced a new birthday recall system, that proactively contacts patients to offer an annual health review and we have also recently introduced group consultations for patients with diabetes; these sessions offer information, advice and support in a friendly group environment.

“We’ve also spent time on developing new skills and knowledge, where three of our practice nurses have recently completed a specialist nursing diploma in caring for long-term conditions.

“Over the coming months we’re committed to the ongoing development and further improvement of our healthcare services at the practice and also in the local area by working closely with healthcare partners.”

PPG Chair Christopher Smith added: “The Burnham & Berrow Medical Centre PPG is really excited by the improvements being made in the practice and recognised by the CQC. This reflects the hard work by everyone to restore trust in the medical centre.

"The PPG has brought patients and staff together at two open days to answer questions and foster community. Well done to everyone in the practice.”

If you are interested in joining the Patient Participation Group, please contact the practice.

The full inspection report can be found on the CQC website.

About Symphony Healthcare Services

In April 2023, Symphony became a subsidiary of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust (Somerset FT) as part of the merger between Yeovil Hospital and Somerset FT.

Symphony Healthcare Services (Symphony) was established in April 2016 and is a large-scale primary care organisation based in Somerset that provides NHS services via Primary Medical Service (PMS) and General Medical Service (GMS) contracts commissioned by the NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board (ICB).

Symphony currently operates and supports 17 GP surgeries across 22 locations in Somerset and Devon to provide primary care services for the local population.

Burnham and Berrow Medical Centre joined the Symphony Healthcare group in April 2023.

Burnham and Berrow Medical Centre was previously rated as inadequate by the Care Quality Commission.

You can read more about Symphony Healthcare Services in the About Us section of the website.