Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Earnswood Medical Centre on 13 October 2015. The overall rating for the practice was good however a requirement notice was made as improvements were needed to patient access. The full comprehensive report on the October 2015 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Earnswood Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This inspection was undertaken on 27 June 2017 and was an announced comprehensive inspection.

Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• There were systems in place to reduce risks to patient safety, for example, equipment checks were carried out, there were systems to protect patients from the risks associated with insufficient staffing levels and to prevent the spread of infection.

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. Staff were aware of procedures for safeguarding patients from the risk of abuse.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.

• Staff felt supported. They had access to training and development opportunities appropriate to their roles.

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect. We saw staff treated patients with kindness and respect.

• Services were planned and delivered to take into account the needs of different patient groups.

• Access to the service was monitored to ensure it met the needs of patients.

• There was a system in place to manage complaints.

• There were systems in place to monitor and improve quality and identify risk.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• The system for sharing learning from complaints, significant events, MHRA drug alerts and audits should be reviewed to ensure that there is a clear method of sharing this information with colleagues unable to attend or who do not participate in these meetings.

• Significant events should where appropriate be reported externally so that learning can be shared across practices within the same Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) or nationally.

• Staff recruitment records should contain evidence of health information.
• The salaried GPs should have an in-house appraisal in addition to the external appraisal process.
• The practice should take steps where possible to ensure the new telephone system is installed without further delay.

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 at Earnswood Medical Centre on 13 October 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Patient’s needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in decisions about their care and treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Patients said they did not find it easy to make an appointment with a named GP, however there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day. The practice had recognised the need to improve access to appointments and was working to improve this.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure and most staff felt generally well supported by management. However, nursing staff had been adversely affected by several colleagues having left the practice recently, leaving them feeling somewhat unsupported.
• The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients. The management had been slow to react to pressure from patients to improve access to appointments.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

• The practice provided very personal and patient centred care to elderly people living in care homes in the locality. GPs made very regular visits to homes and provided care home management with their personal contact details in order that they could provide advice outside surgery hours.

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

Importantly the provider MUST:

• Review and improve access and availability of routine patient appointments.

Additionally the provider should:

• Produce and embed a mission statement or vision for the practice.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice