Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Brunston & Lydbrook Practice on 14 January 2015.

We rated the practice as good for providing well-led, effective, safe, caring and responsive services. It was also good for providing services for older people, people with long-term conditions, mothers, babies, children and young people, working-age population and those recently retired people in vulnerable circumstances who may have poor access to primary care and people experiencing poor mental health.

Our key findings were as follows:

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and knew how to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety measures were recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• Patients told us they were treated with dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about the services provided and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• The practice had good facilities and was equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted upon.

However, there were also areas of practice where the provider should make improvements.

• There should be monitoring of the dispensary room temperature where medicines were stored to ensure they were kept within the manufacturers recommended temperature ranges.
• Methods of monitoring blank FP10 prescriptions for printers were not in accordance with national guidance as there was no process for logging which printers they were assigned to.
• The practice should use a recognised approved systems for equipment for cleaning.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection January 2015 – Good)

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/unannounced comprehensive/focused inspection at Brunston & Lydbrook Practice on 31 May 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
• The practice 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 patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Improve documentation in relation to actions and learns from reviews of significant events.
• Develop a complaints procedure that details time lines in line with national guidance.
• Take action to improve privacy for patients at the reception and dispensary at the branch site.

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