Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Devaney Medical Centre on 17 December 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and a system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Patients said 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 that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour. (This means that providers must be open and transparent with service users about their care and treatment, including when it goes wrong.)

There were some elements of outstanding practice including:

• The practice hosted a dementia clinic led by a consultant geriatrician to support patients with dementia to receive support and treatment in a familiar and convenient location.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Ensure that a policy and protocol is put in place to reflect how significant events are to be managed.

• Review the safeguarding children protocols to ensure that information about vulnerable children attending A&E departments or other healthcare walk in centres is appropriately coded to support effective monitoring of their health and wellbeing.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We reviewed the information available to us about Devaney Medical Centre - JW Bates on 11 May 2019. We did not find evidence of significant changes to the quality of service being provided since the last inspection. As a result, we decided not to inspect the surgery at this time. We will continue to monitor this information about this service throughout the year and may inspect the surgery when we see evidence of potential changes.