Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of Knightwick Surgery on 1 March 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all of the areas 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. Opportunities for learning from incidents were shared with staff during meetings and systems put in place to prevent similar recurrences.

• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.

• There were safe systems in place for dispensing prescribed medicines to patients.

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment. They were very complimentary about the standards of care they received. Information was provided to help patients understand the services and care available to them.

• Practice staff worked closely with other organisations and external professionals in planning how services were provided to ensure that they met patient’s needs. Patients with complex needs had care plans in place that were regularly reviewed.

• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to assess and treat patient’s needs.

• As a consequence of feedback from patients and the Patient Participation Group (PPG) practice staff had made improvements to the way it delivered services. The PPG were proactive in representing patients and assisting the practice in making improvements.
• Senior staff had a clear vision for taking the practice forward which had quality and safety as its priority. Plans for the future were in place to improve patient access to the premises. There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. It was evident that there was a strongly motivated staff team.

However, there was an area of practice where the provider needs to make improvement.

The provider should:

• Review staff understanding of procedures to be followed when checking the quantities of medicines in stock.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We reviewed the information available to us about Knightwick Surgery on 11 May 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.