Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Higherland Surgery on 19 January 2017. 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.
• 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.
• Practice staff reviewed the needs of its local population to secure improvements to services where these were identified.
• 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 found it easy to make an appointment with a GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• The practice offered extended opening hours between 6pm and 8pm on a Monday. As members of North Staffordshire Federation, patients had access to a local Hub service that provided appointments every Saturday from 9am to 4pm (with plans to extend the hours to include Sundays and evenings).
• The practice provided an ‘endoscope-i’ service. This provided a mobile image enabling a video or still photograph, for example of the ear, which the GP used to discuss any identified concerns or need for referral with the secondary care specialists in Ear Nose and Throat. On occasion reducing the need for patients to attend hospital.
• 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 the 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.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice