This practice is rated as Requires improvement overall. (Previous rating January 2015 – Good)

The key questions at this inspection are rated as:

Are services safe? – Requires Improvement

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Requires Improvement

The population groups in effective were rated good overall.

The population groups in the responsive domain were all rated good.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Flixton Road Medical Centre on 22 October 2018 as part of our inspection programme

At this inspection we found:

• There were systems in place to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. However, we saw examples where care and treatment had not been delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.
• Systems to manage read coding, prescribing, medical alerts and care planning required improvement in order to ensure consistency and safety.
• The systems to manage medicines safely were not consistently applied.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they could access care when they needed it.
• The governance structure did not encourage whole team working. Clinical discussions regularly took place but were not attended by nurses. However, communication about changes or news at the practice was disseminated weekly to reception and nursing staff by newsletter.
• There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation and the practice supported trainee GPs.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

• Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients
• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Improve meeting minutes to ensure that consistent information is channelled from one meeting to another.
• Improve whole-team working.
• Improve identification of carers
• Improve risk management overall

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

Please refer to the detailed report and the evidence tables for further information.

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Flixton Road Medical Centre on 7 January 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

We found the practice to be good for providing safe, caring, responsive and well-led services. It was also good for providing services to all the population groups. The practice required improvements in the way they provided effective services.

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
• Patients’ 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 their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a GP and that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• 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.

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

Importantly the provider should

• Ensure reception staff are aware of the Gillick competencies and the right for young people to attend the practice without a parent.
• Ensure there are processes in place to collect the views of patients.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice