Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Handsworth Medical Practice on 27th October 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 and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• 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. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said they sometimes found it difficult access appointments, but could see a named GP and 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. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

We spoke to 12 people, doctors, a practice nurse, a receptionist and the practice manager and their deputy. People told us that they were satisfied with the care and treatment they received. They told us that information was explained in a way they could understand and that they usually saw the same doctor if they wished to. One person said, "the doctor always explains what my options are."

We found that care was planned in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety. There were procedures in place to assess people when they first came to the practice and clear guidance on referring to specialist practitioners.

Medical, nursing and administration staff had attended safeguarding training and were aware of the procedure to follow if they had concerns about the welfare of the people they treated.

We found that staff had up to date appraisals or had planned annual appraisals. We saw appraisal records for nurses and were shown the electronic appraisal system used by the doctors. Both nursing and medical staff were up to date with their continuing professional development and had personal development plans.

We reviewed feedback collected from patients and found that people's suggestion were taken into account. Changes had been made to the telephone system to enable people to get through. This had improved the ability to get through, however a few people thought the tariff charged by the external company was too high.