Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Valley Surgery on 21 October 2015. Overall the practice is rated as outstanding.

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

• There were arrangements in place to respond to the protection of children and vulnerable adults and to respond to any significant events affecting patients’ wellbeing.
• The practice managed complaints well and took them seriously, information about how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Patients told us they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were involved in decisions about their care and treatment. They also said that the staff would always allocate time to explain conditions and treatment plans which helped patients understand the care available to them.
• The practice worked well with other health care services to enable a multi-disciplinary approach in meeting the needs of patients.
• There was a clear management structure with approachable leadership. Staff were supported and had opportunities for developing their skills with good training opportunities.
• The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on. There was an active patient participation group (PPG) which felt involved in the development of the practice.
• The PPG was proactive in health promotion working with charities to coordinate events to support patients diagnosed with long term conditions such as dementia as well as their carers.
• 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.
• The practice had a clear vision and informal set of values which were understood by staff. There were clear clinical governance systems in place and regular review of policies.

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice staff were open and transparent and fully committed to reporting incidents and near misses. Learning was not only shared within the practice, following a through and open investigation, so staff could work to best practice but also at a national level so learning could be maximised from these events and reduce likelihood of reoccurrence.
• The practice had an embedded culture and proactive approach to anticipating and managing risks to patients which was recognised as the responsibility of the staff we spoke to.
• Clinical audits were carried out and all relevant staff were involved to improve care, treatment and people’s outcomes. There had been 19 clinical audits conducted in the last twelve months, seven of these were completed audits where the improvements made were implemented and monitored.
• The practice provided a level of care over and above what was demanded by their contractual obligations or expected by their patients. The high level of compassion and respect given to patients in need, whether at end of life or during a deterioration of their condition was reflected in comment cards and by talking to patients throughout the inspection. Additional support for patients with dementia was in place to allow access to care and services in a suitable manner.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice