Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of Eastmead Avenue Surgery on 08 January 2015. We rated the practice as ‘Good’ for the service being safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs and well-led. We rated the practice as ‘Good’ for the care provided to older people and people with long term conditions and ‘Good’ for the care provided to, families, children and young people, working age people (including those recently retired and students), people living in vulnerable circumstances and people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

We gave the practice an overall rating of ‘Good’

Our key findings were as follows:

• Patients were overall satisfied with opening times and access to appointments.
• The practice was managed well from a health & safety perspective. Where risks were identified, control measures were in place to minimise them.
• The practice was clean & hygienic, infection control audits were regularly completed and action taken where risks had been identified.
• Staff were trained to respond to emergency situations and the welfare of patients was prioritised.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity & respect and this was reflected in patient surveys we reviewed.
• Clinical staff followed recognised guidance to deliver effective care & treatment to patients.
• Clinical audit cycles were completed resulting in improved outcomes for patients.
• The practice was well-led. There were clear leadership and governance arrangements in place and staff were supported to deliver effective care.

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

The provider should:

• Provide staff with access to and training in the use of an automated external defibrillator (used to attempt to restart a person’s heart in an emergency) in line with the Resuscitation Council (UK) recommendations for primary care.
• Introduce a whistleblowing policy to ensure staff are aware of the procedures to follow if they had concerns about suspected wrong doing at work relating to other staff members.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice