Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Grosvenor Medical Centre on 3 March 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety. The practice had a system in place to report significant events. Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses.

• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed for example, arrangements to safeguard vulnerable patients, keep medicines safe and manage infection control.
• Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment. Staff retention at the practice was good offering stability and continuity of care to patients.
• Patients were positive about the practice and the staff team. They said they were treated with dignity and respect and felt involved in decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and displayed prominently in the patient waiting area.
• Patients were mostly positive about accessing appointments with a named GP and said that there was continuity of care. However around half the patients we spoke with or filled out comment cards said they found difficulties in getting through on the telephone or accessing a pre bookable appointment.
• 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 an experienced management team.

However, there are areas where the provider should make improvements:

• Review the management and availability of patient appointments.
• Ensure updated training is provided for all staff in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

When we visited the Grosvenor Medical Centre we inspected the surgeries both on Grosvenor Street and at the branch surgery at Gresty Brook.

We spoke with five patients who had attended for appointments that day. They all told us that they were happy with the treatment they received at the practice. They said “(The doctors) are very good” and “They treat you with respect” and that the practice was “very good” and “fantastic”. Patients also told us that “the staff at reception are very helpful”. One patient said “I once arrived early and observed the interaction between staff and patients – I’d call it ‘traditional north of England’ – very friendly and relaxed. I saw them going out of their way to help people”. Patients said that they felt that they were involved in decisions about their care and treatment “They explain – they tell me everything – tell me what things are for and what they do – complete understanding”.

We talked to three of the doctors who practised at the surgeries as well as the practice manager and surgery staff. We also talked to district nursing staff. We looked at the arrangements for safeguarding patients from abuse and found that the practice had put arrangements in place to ensure that they met the requirements for this. However when we looked at the procedures for recruiting staff we were not satisfied that these were effective or that they conformed to the relevant requirements.