Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Whitaker & Partners on 31 March 2016. 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 an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events. There was however no procedure in place to manage national medicines safety alerts and controlled drugs were not managed in accordance with the relevant legislation.

• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed, with the exception of those relating to recruitment checks.
• 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 although not always with their choice of GP. There were 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 proactively sought feedback from staff, which it acted on.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour (i.e. any patient harmed by the provision of a healthcare service is informed of the fact and an appropriate remedy offered, regardless of whether a complaint has been made or a question asked about it).
• The practice had proactively sought feedback from patients and had an active patient participation group.
• Patients’ confidentiality was respected however conversations at the reception desk could be overheard.
• The practice had a number of policies and procedures to govern activity, but some were overdue a review.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

• The storage of controlled drugs are managed in accordance with the relevant legislation.
• Put in place a procedure to manage national medicines safety alerts.

• Ensure recruitment arrangements include all necessary employment checks for all staff.
• Ensure appraisals are documented.

In addition the provider should:

• Review and update policies and guidance so they are fit for purpose and all staff are aware of their content.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this practice on 31 March 2016. Breaches of legal requirements were found. After the comprehensive inspection, the practice wrote to us to say what they would do to meet legal requirements in relation to

1. Regulation 17 HSCA (RA) Regulations 2014 Good governance.

How the regulation was not being met:

The provider did not have suitable arrangements in place to ensure staff followed policies and procedures about managing medicines.

The provider did not have suitable arrangements in place to consult national recognised guidance about delivering safe care and treatment and implement this as appropriate.

2. Regulation 19 HSCA (RA) Regulations 2014 Fit and proper persons employed.

How the regulation was not being met:

The provider had not ensured that the information specified in Schedule 3 was available for each person employed. In addition, they had not established effective recruitment and selection procedures.

We undertook this focused inspection on 23 November 2016 to check that they had followed their plan and to confirm that they now met legal requirements.

This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Dr AS Whitaker & Partners on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

From the inspection on 31 March 2016, the practice were told they must:

• Ensure the storage of controlled drugs are managed in accordance with the relevant legislation.

• Put in place a procedure to manage national medicines safety alerts.

• Ensure recruitment arrangements include all necessary employment checks for all staff.

• Ensure appraisals are documented.

We found that on 23 November 2016 the practice now had improved systems in place.

• The practice had ceased to store controlled drugs.
• We saw that a procedure had been put in place to manage national medicines safety alerts.
• Records we looked at confirmed that staff recruitment checks had been completed.
• We saw evidence that appraisals were documented.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice