Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This service is rated as Good overall. This service has not been previously inspected.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Brent GP Access Centre on 5 December 2017 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. The inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

At this inspection we found:

• The service had good systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When they did happen, the service learned from them and improved their processes.
• The service routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patient feedback indicated that patients were treated with care and respect and were involved in decisions about their treatment. Patients were able to access care and treatment from the service within an appropriate timescale for their needs.
• The service had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure at local and organisational level and staff told us they felt supported by management.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Maintain up-to-date records relating to facilities management undertaken by NHS Property Services (NHSPS), specifically remedial work identified from risk assessments, to be satisfied that all areas managed by NHSPS are compliant.
• Consider the infection control lead undertaking enhanced training to support them in this extended role.
• Consider the guidance of Public Health England’s ordering, storing and handling vaccines (March 2014).
• Consider how patients with a hearing impairment would access the service.
• Consider providing patient literature and posters in languages aligned to the identified patient demographic.
• Review the requirements of the Accessible Information Standard.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice