We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Aspen Medical Practice on 13 March 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.

Overall the practice is rated as requires improvement.

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

• There was not a written protocol for reception staff to advise them on what to do should a patient become acutely unwell and they had not been given guidance on identifying those patients or those who may deteriorate.
• Patient Specific Directions to authorise health care assistants to administer medicines such as vaccines were not issued in line with national guidance.

We rated the practice as requires improvement for providing responsive services including all population groups because:

• Sufficient actions had not been implemented to improve telephone access to the practice.

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

• 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 way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

• Ensure that care and treatment is provided in a safe way.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review systems in place, so that the monitoring of prescription forms is accurate, and management oversight of the processing of safety alerts is easier.
• Implement systems so that staff in advance roles receive regular reviews of their prescribing and appropriate clinical supervision.
• Continue to monitor and implement actions to improve performance in relation to the Quality Outcomes Framework indicators.

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

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Heathville Road Surgery and the branch surgery at Tuffley Surgery, Warwick Avenue, Gloucestershire on the 27 October 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing safe, well led, effective, caring and responsive services. It was also rated as good for providing services for all of the population groups.

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

• We found patients needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.
• Patients told us they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments always available the same day.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff worked cohesively as a team and understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• There was a strong leadership structure and staff felt supported by management.
• The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted upon.
• The leadership, governance and culture within the practice were used to drive and improve the delivery of high-quality person-centred care.

We saw an area of outstanding practice:

The practice participated in innovative pilot programmes such as the Choice Plus project which

increased patient access to urgent care appointments and chronic illness management.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice