Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Drs Rees and Lefroy on 25 January 2016. Overall the practice is rated as outstanding.

Our key findings were as follows:

• Feedback from patients about their care was consistently and strongly positive.

• 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.
• Staff were knowledgeable, engaged and took pride in the services provided.
• 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.
• 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.

We saw areas of outstanding practice including:

• Patients’ care and treatment were well managed. The number of practice patients with health conditions who had been admitted to hospital in an emergency was significantly lower than local levels.

• All registered patients had a named GP and the GPs operated a ‘concern’ list of patients that had complex needs. The list was known by and shared by each GP. This was to enable the sharing of concerns regarding patients that were not coping well medically, socially or emotionally. The GPs had been worked together for over 14 years at the practice and displayed a thorough knowledge and understanding of their patients.

There were also an areas of practice where the provider should make improvements:

• Consider introducing appointments for patients, who wish, to consult with clinicians from the same gender.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice