This service is rated as Good overall.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at GP Extended Access on 27 March 2019 as part of our inspection programme. This was the first inspection of this service. The service was registered by CQC on 7 April 2017 is registered to provide three regulated activities: Diagnostic and screening procedures, family planning, treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

At this inspection we found:

• Whilst safety alerts had been managed appropriately, there was no formal safety alert protocol to notify staff who were prescribers or who administered medicines. There was no system in place to ensure oversight that appropriate actions had been completed.
• The service routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients were able to access care and treatment from the service and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review the system for managing safety alerts.
• Continue to implement a quality improvement programme to demonstrate improved clinical outcomes for patients.

• Review the need to have a system to periodically check that risk management activities are being undertaken and retain records of recommended actions and monitor progress on these.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care