Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Govindasamy Balachandran on 10 May 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.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with 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. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and 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 proactively 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.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Ensure they take action to address the low scores in the GP survey identified by patients.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We spoke with ten people using the service, the principal GP, the practice and business managers, nurses and administrative staff working in the practice. The people we spoke with all told us they were very happy with the services they received. Their comments included “he is a first-class GP, the whole practice is excellent. I would never go anywhere else” and “I can’t fault them, the whole team, reception nurses and doctors are fantastic.”

We saw people were given the information they needed to make decisions about their care and treatment.

Staff working in the practice understood the local arrangements for safeguarding children and adults using the service and had been trained to recognise possible abuse.

Staff received the training the needed to carry out their roles. Systems were in place to support staff through formal supervision and appraisals.

The provider had procedures for managing complaints received from people using the service. Complaints were recorded and resolved, wherever possible.