Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at 8.30am on 9 February 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 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 there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day. However, appointments with a preferred GP were not always available quickly.
• 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.

We found two areas of outstanding practice:

• The principal GP had led an investigation to improve pathology services in the local area which had made an impact nationally in the manner in which pathology results were viewed and filed in the GP computer system.
• The principal GP had led the development of templates which had been utilised widely by practices within the local area. This included bespoke templates for safeguarding, Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (DMARDs) and antenatal care. The GP had also contributed to the development of the Whole Systems Integrated Care template (a template adopted by all practices in the local network to gather information on high risk patients in order to develop care plans for them.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Complete a risk assessment for legionella (Legionella is a term for a particular bacterium which can contaminate water systems in buildings).
• Review the process for recording significant events and critical incidents.
• Ensure all staff meetings are minuted with actions recorded.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice