Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr M Cuthbert and Partners on 25 February 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

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

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. All opportunities for learning from internal and external incidents were maximised.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment. Information was provided to help patients understand the care available to them.
• The practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a consequence of feedback from patients and from the Patient Participation Group (PPG).
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand
• The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority. High standards were promoted and owned by all practice staff with evidence of team working across all roles.

We saw some areas of outstanding practice including:

• The practice held themed open days for patients to provide further information, advice and support about certain health matters. The themes included a chronic obstructive airways (COPD) awareness open day which provided the opportunity to meet the new nurse practitioner who specialised in COPD. Know your blood pressure, dying matters and resuscitation for babies. A carers event was also held and a heart rhythm day. The events were planned for the year and advertised via leaflets, posters and word of mouth in the practice. Staff told us they were well attended by patients.
• The practice employed a community matron to supported patients’ living in residential and nursing homes as well as their own homes. This provided closer monitoring of patients’ in their home and ensured they had a care plan in place to deliver appropriate care and treatment. This reduced the number of days patients with long term conditions spent in hospital following an emergency admission. The practice was 4% lower than the CCG average.
• Patients had access to an area on their electronic patient record which provided ‘self-care’ support. It allowed patients, with the continued support of the GP, to make decisions using data from their electronic health record to change their lifestyle and improve their overall health.

However there were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements

Importantly the provider should:

• Review arrangements for the storage and tracking of electronic prescriptions within the practice to meet national guidance.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice