Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Helsby Street Medical Centre on 4 May 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. Significant events had been investigated and action had been taken as a result of the learning from events.
• Systems were in place to deal with medical emergencies and all staff were trained in basic life support.
• There were systems in place to reduce risks to patient safety. For example, infection control practices were good and there were regular checks on the environment and on equipment used.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance.
• Feedback from patients about the care and treatment they received from clinicians was very positive.
• Data showed that outcomes for patients at this practice were similar to outcomes for patients locally and nationally.
• Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Staff felt well supported in their roles and were kept up to date with appropriate training.
• Patients said they were treated with dignity and respect and they were involved in decisions about their care and treatment.
• The appointments system was flexible to accommodate peoples’ needs. Overall patients told us they could get an appointment when they needed one. However, a small number of patients said they had difficulty in getting through to the practice by telephone and in getting an appointment.
• The practice had good facilities, including disabled access. It was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• Information about services and how to complain was available. Complaints had been investigated and responded to in a timely manner.
• The practice had a clear vision to provide a safe and high quality service.
• There was a clear leadership and staffing structure and staff understood their roles and responsibilities.
• The practice provided a range of enhanced services to meet the needs of the local population.
• The practice sought patient views about improvements that could be made to the service. This included the practice having and consulting with a patient participation group (PPG).

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Review and make improvements to the telephone access and appointment request system.

• Review and update the information provided to patients about how they can make a complaint about the service.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We reviewed the information available to us about Helsby Street Medical Centre on 15 June 2019. We did not find evidence of significant changes to the quality of service being provided since the last inspection. As a result, we decided not to inspect the surgery at this time. We will continue to monitor this information about this service throughout the year and may inspect the surgery when we see evidence of potential changes.