Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We undertook a comprehensive inspection of Green Lane Surgery on the 12 November 2014. The overall rating for the practice is good. We found the practice good in providing care that was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led and for the six population groups.

Our key findings were as follows:

• The practice had robust arrangements in place to ensure patients received a safe service. Risks to patient safety were effectively managed. The practice investigated, acted upon and learnt form incidents that occurred.

• The practice was effective in providing positive outcomes for patients. Patient care was met by staff who had received appropriate training and were supported to further their training in order to improve the patient experience. The practice worked with other health and care providers to deliver co-ordinated care.

• The practice was caring. Feedback from patients told us that they were treated with dignity and respect and that staff were friendly and helpful.

• The practice was responsive to the needs of patients. Action had been taken to improve access to appointments. Information and feedback from patients was used to deliver service improvement.

• The practice was well-led. We found the practice well organised and staff were appropriately supported to deliver high quality services.

We saw areas of outstanding practice including:

• In response to patient feedback all reception staff were being supported to undertake a National Vocational Qualification in customer services to improve the patient experience of the service.

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

The provider should:

• Ensure audits complete their full audit cycle in order to demonstrate improvements made to practice.
• Ensure governance issues discussed at meetings are clearly documented to ensure actions required are not missed and that there are clear lines of accountability for action.
• Record checks of oxygen to demonstrate that this is done and the oxygen is fit for use.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection 12 November 2014 – Good)

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 Green Lane on 23 April 2018. This inspection was carried out under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. The inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear systems 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. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
• Staff were encouraged to undertake training to develop their skills.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
• A series of audits had been carried out to review performance.
• Patients found staff friendly and approachable.
• Staff told us that they felt well supported and the GPs used a variety of methods to engage and communicate with staff.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Continue to improve support for patients with mental health by ensuring they have a comprehensive, agreed care plan documented in the record.
• Continue to improve cancer screening rates.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice