Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Fakenham Medical Practice on 6 September 2016. This inspection was in follow up to our previous comprehensive inspection at the practice on 23 March 2016 where breaches were found. Following the 23 March 2016 inspection, the practice was rated as requires improvement for providing safe services and the overall rating of the practice was good. We issued requirement notices to the practice to inform them where improvements were needed. After the 23 March 2016 inspection, the practice wrote to us to say what they would do to meet legal requirements in relation to safe services.

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

• We found that improvements had been made and that the systems and process in place ensured safe management of medicines for patients.

• The practice had completed robust fire risk assessments and had taken action on improvements identified.

• The practice had a system to ensure that the immunisation status of clinical staff employed at the practice was held.

• The practice had undertaken audits to encourage improvement, and share learning.

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 Fakenham Medical Practice on 23 March 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good

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

• The appointment system was flexible and ensured that patients who requested to be seen on the same day were.
• The practice had good facilities including disabled access. There were two lifts for those patients who could not manage the stairs.
• Information about the services and how to complain was available. The practice sought patient views about improvements that could be made to the service, including having a patient participation group (PPG).
• The practice proactively managed care plans for vulnerable patients and had effective management strategies for patients at the end of their life.
• There were systems, policies and procedures to keep patients safe and to govern activity for example, infection control.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.

We saw one area of outstanding practice;

• The PPG with financial support from the practice published a quarterly newsletter which was delivered to the home of every patient (approx. 8000). The newsletter delivered in Winter 2015/16 contained information on data sharing and consent, an article on how health commissioners seek to reshape the local healthcare system and the medical conditions that the duty nurse can deal with.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

• Ensure that risk assessments for fire safety are undertaken at both the main site and the branch site and that any identified actions are completed in a timely manner.

• Review the management of medicines to ensure that patients are safe from harm. This must include ensuring that staff are working within their scope of practice and have the appropriate qualifications to prescribe medicines to patients.

• Record the immunisation status for all clinical staff and review in line with the prevention of infection control policy to ensure that patients and staff are kept safe.

• In addition the provider should;

• Improve the clinical audits undertaken by completing the second cycle to ensure improvements have been implemented and embedded in practice.
• Review the business continuity plan ensuring that information needed to manage major incidents such as power failure and emergency contact numbers is included.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice