Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Alderley Edge Medical Practice on 26 September 2017.

Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• There were systems in place to reduce risks to patient safety, for example, equipment and premises checks were carried out and there were systems to prevent the spread of infection.

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. Staff were aware of procedures for safeguarding patients from the risk of abuse.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.

• Staff felt supported and they had access to training and development opportunities appropriate to their roles.

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect. We saw staff treated patients with kindness and respect.

• Services were planned and delivered to take into account the needs of different patient groups.

• There was a system in place to manage complaints.

• There were systems in place to monitor and improve quality and identify risk.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review the system put in place to broaden the scope of issues considered to be a significant event to ensure this is effective.
• Monitor recruitment records to ensure that all the required information is obtained.
• Checks of cleaning standards should take place at the branch practice.
• Review the system put in place to monitor which prescriber the printable prescriptions are distributed to.
• A central system to monitor staff training should be put in place.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice