Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Kirpal Medical Practice on 26 September 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 a system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Staff understood their responsibilities to raise concerns and to report incidents and near misses. The practice had a formal system in place for the ongoing monitoring of significant events, incidents and accidents.
• Arrangements were in place to ensure that risks to patients were assessed and managed. The exception was the process for managing patients on high risk medicines.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance.
• The practice had a programme of continuous clinical and internal audit in order to monitor quality and make improvements.
• The practice invested in staff development and training.
• 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 found it easy to make an appointment with 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.

There were areas of practice where the provider should make improvements:

• Implement a fully effective system to improve the management of patients on high risk medicines.
• Ensure clinical waste disposal procedures meet nationally recognised guidelines.
• Assess the risk of not having medicines to manage pain included in the emergency medicines box.
• Explore ways to improve communication with patients whose first language is not English.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Kirpal Medical Practice is based within Soho Medical Centre and provides primary care services for patients in the surrounding area.

All the patients we spoke with were extremely positive about the practice. Patients told us that they were respected and well cared for. Patients felt that if they had a complaint that they would be listened to and their complaint dealt with a timely way.

Appropriate systems were in place to ensure patients were kept safe. The practice provided care in line with current guidance and best practice. The practice worked in partnership with the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and other health teams and was proactive in responding to people’s needs.

The leadership style and values at the practice ensured that they were approachable. All the staff we spoke with said the staff team worked very well together. The practice had appropriate governance and risk management measures in place.

We examined patient care across the following population groups: Older people, the practice population aged 75 or over; people with long term conditions, those with ongoing health problems that cannot be cured; mothers, babies, children and young people; working age people and those recently retired; people in vulnerable circumstances who may have poor access to primary care and people experiencing poor mental health. We found that care was tailored to ensure that the individual care needs throughout these groups could be met.

Please note that when referring to information throughout this report, for example any reference to the Quality and Outcomes Framework data, this relates to the most recent information available to the CQC at that time.