Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at L85029 – Dr da Cunha and Partners on 17 February 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 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.
• 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.
• When there were unintended or unexpected safety incidents, patients received reasonable support, truthful information, a verbal and written apology and were told about any actions to improve processes to prevent the same thing happening again.

We saw three areas of outstanding practice:

The patient information centre contained a well–resourced lending library with books on general health matters, equipment for health checks and various health information leaflets. We saw that the library was well used throughout the inspection and improved patients’ awareness of services, such as bereavement and counselling.

The practice made arrangements for patients and their families who were affected by domestic abuse or violence. They displayed contact details for support groups in every room, and the practice had a system for patients to confidentially alert staff about concerns for their safety. We saw that there had been an increase in patients using this service.

Staff had lead roles that improved outcomes for patients such as a care co-ordinator and a carer’s champion. Cruse Bereavement Care have access to rooms for booked sessions.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGPChief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous rating 02 2016 – Good)

The key questions at this inspection are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at L85029 - Vine Surgery Partnership on 20 November 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Evaluate prescription security and implement measures in line with NHS England guidance for the safety of prescriptions.
• Review health and safety risk assessments to ensure they are available on site and overarching documentation of any actions taken recorded.
• Improve overarching document for oversight of clinical revalidation and professional body registration, staff vaccination and significant events.
• Complete annual appraisals for salaried GPs.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

Please refer to the detailed report and the evidence tables for further information.