Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of Drs Wood and Hearne on 7 October 2014.  The inspection team was led by a CQC inspector and included a GP specialist advisor, a practice manager and an Expert by Experience.  We found Drs Wood and Hearne provided a good service to patients in all of the five key areas we looked at.  This applied to patients across all age ranges and to patients with varied needs due to their health or social circumstances.

Our key findings were as follows:

• The practice had comprehensive systems for monitoring and maintaining the safety of the practice and the care and treatment they provide to their patients.
• The practice was proactive in helping people with long term conditions to manage their health and had arrangements in place to make sure their health was monitored regularly.
• The practice was clean and hygienic and had robust arrangements for reducing the risks from healthcare associated infections.
• Patients felt that they were treated with dignity and respect.  They felt that their GP listened to them and treated them as individuals.
• The practice had a well-established and well trained team and who had expertise and experience in a wide range of health conditions.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We spoke with six patients during our inspection. Most were very complimentary about the service they received at the surgery. They told us, “This is the best surgery I’ve been to” and, “It’s always been very good”. One patient told us they felt the doctors were slow to diagnose their problem but that they, “Can’t do enough for me now”.

We saw that patients’ views and experiences were taken into account in the way the service was provided. We also saw that the surgery had policies and procedures in place to help protect patients’ privacy and dignity. The staff we spoke with were familiar with the procedures. None of the patients we spoke with had any concerns in this area.

We found that stocks of medicines in the surgery’s dispensary were correctly stored, and recorded. We also found that medicines were safely dispensed.

We were satisfied that the provider made all the appropriate checks on staff before their full employment started. The practice manager regularly checked to ensure that healthcare professionals employed at the surgery were correctly registered with their appropriate professional body.

There were processes in place for monitoring the quality of service provision. There was also an established system for obtaining opinions from patients about the standard of the service they received.