Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Lambgates Health Centre on 8 June 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 to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed, including those relating to recruitment checks.

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.

• Data showed patient outcomes were in line with or above those locally and nationally.
• Feedback from patients about their care was consistently and strongly positive.

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.

• The practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a result of feedback from patients.

• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.

• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment and that 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.

We saw areas of outstanding practice, including:

• The practice carried out an audit following the introduction of a new system where patients were booked appointments with the GP or nurse ‘leading’ on their care. We noted there had been a significant increase in the number of patients seen by the same nurse / GP providing them with a continuity of care and treatment.
• The practice actively engaged patients in health promotion and prevention, for example: Health education evenings for patients and monthly campaign boards/displays were developed these included levels of sugar in drinks and a smoking display created by young people from a local school.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Ensure the appropriate type of identification is recorded in personnel files.
• Complete the process of obtaining DBS checks for those staff who it wanted to carry out chaperone duties.
• Ensure a record of training is up to date as a means of ensuring staff have received mandatory training and updates.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Lambgates Health Centre in located in Glossop and provides a range of medical services including: clinics for chronic disease care, contraception, minor surgery, childhood vaccinations and well-person check-ups. There are 6590 patients registered with the practice. The practice is registered with the Care Quality Commission to deliver the following regulated activities:

• diagnostic and screening procedures
• family planning
• maternity and midwifery services
• surgical procedures
• treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

The patients we spoke with and the feedback cards we reviewed were very positive about the care provided. They told us the staff were kind and caring and treated them with respect. They said their GP always explained their treatment clearly and they had enough time to discuss their health care issues.

Systems were in place to ensure the efficient and effective running of the service. Staff reviewed their own practices for the purpose of improving the service and they responded promptly to patients’ care needs.

Positive steps had been taken to ensure people who had difficulty accessing the service were enabled to do so.

A thorough recruitment and selection process was in place to ensure suitable staff were employed.

Systems were in place to ensure the efficient and effective management of the service. Governance arrangements were in place to ensure the service met patients’ needs.