Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of Derwent Practice on 13 November 2014. Derwent Practice provides primary medical care services to patients living in and around the area of Malton, North Yorkshire. 

We rated the practice overall as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

The leadership, governance and culture were used to drive and improve the delivery of quality, person-centred care.

Patients reported good access to the practice and continuity of care, with urgent appointments

available the same day.

Patients said, and our observations confirmed, they were treated with kindness and respect.

The practice was visibly clean and tidy.

The practice learned from incidents and took action to prevent a recurrence.

The practice safely and effectively provided services for all patient groups. The staff were caring and ensured all treatments being provided followed best practice guidance. The practice was well-led and responsive to patients’ needs.

Systems were in place for the dispensing of and management of medicines.

The provider should:

Ensure staff have received training in adult safeguarding.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

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During our announced inspection we spoke with eight patients, two members of the patient participation group, the registered provider (Dr Harper), the practice manager, dispensing technicians, two practice nurses, and three reception staff. We also spoke with the GP who was the lead for medicines.

Patients who received treatment at the practice told us that they were very happy with the care and treatment they received and they had confidence in the staff. They said “It’s a first rate set up here. The doctors say what I need to hear” and “The service is terrific, especially with the large group of nurses able to provide care”.

Patients expressed their views and were involved in making decisions about their care and treatment. We saw that patients were given information and support with regards to treatment options and that staff maintained patient's privacy and confidentiality.

Patients had their medicines prescribed and dispensed at the time they needed them and in a safe way.

Staff had received appropriate professional development and training to ensure they could meet the needs of the people who used the service. Staff could tell us who they would contact if they were concerned about child protection issues or abuse of patients. The practice had systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Derwent Practice on 20 February 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.

We have rated this practice as good overall and good for all population groups.

We found that:

• 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 practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

• Improve the identification of carers to enable this group of patients to access the care and support they need.
• Track blank prescription forms through the practice in accordance with national guidance.
• Improve the process to ensure test results were responded to in a timely manner.
• Improve the process for monitoring medicines that require monitoring and clinical review prior to prescribing.
• Review the process for exception reporting to ensure the needs of the different patient groups, for those with diabetes, asthma and people experiencing poor mental health are responded to.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

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