We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Addington Medical Practice on 12 February 2019 as part of our inspection programme.

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 have rated this practice as good overall.

We rated the practice as requires improvement for providing safe services because:

• The practice had not consistently identified and acted upon risks, including those associated with staff recruitment and infection control.

We rated people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable as requires improvement for effectiveness as at the time of the inspection the practice had no mechanism to register patients without an address.

Although we rated all of the population groups as good for responsiveness, the rating for effectiveness means that people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable was rated as requires improvement.

All of the other population groups were rated as good.

We rated the practice as good for providing effective, caring, responsive and well-led services because:

• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• There was compassionate and inclusive leadership, and a number of effective systems and processes.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

• Ensure that care and treatment is provided in a safe way.
• Ensure sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced persons are deployed to meet the fundamental standards of care and treatment.

(Please see the specific details on action required at the end of this report).

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review how patients with caring responsibilities are identified and recorded on the clinical system so their needs can be identified and met.
• Review newly-implemented system so patients without an address can register.
• Review complaints process and arrangements so patients receive details of the action they could take if unhappy with the practice’s response.

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

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice