Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Latchford Medical Centre on 20 July 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good. Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• Staff clearly understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. Significant events had been investigated and the provider could clearly demonstrate that action had been taken as a result of the learning from events.

• Systems were in place to deal with medical emergencies and all staff were trained in basic life support.

• There were robust systems in place to reduce risks to patient safety. For example, infection control practices were good and there were regular checks on the environment and on equipment used.

• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Clinical staff were well supported to keep up to date with changes to best practice and to share their learning.

• Feedback from patients about the care and treatment they received from clinicians was highly positive. Patients told us they were treated with dignity and respect and were involved in decisions about their care and treatment.

• Data showed that outcomes for patients at this practice were similar to or better than outcomes for patients locally and nationally.

• Staff felt well supported and they were kept up to date with appropriate training. Staff we spoke with told us they had the skills, knowledge and experience to fulfil their roles and responsibilities.

• The majority of patients we spoke with said they had no difficulty in making an appointment and they felt there had been improvements to the appointment system and their experience of reception staff over the past year.

• The practice had good facilities, including disabled access. It was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.

• The provider actively sought feedback from patients and acted upon it to improve patients’ experiences of the service. This included the practice having and consulting with a patient participation group (PPG).

• Information about services and how to complain was available. Complaints had been investigated and responded to in a timely manner. Action had been taken to improve the service in response to complaints.

• The practice had a clear vision to provide a safe and high quality service.

• There was a clear leadership and staff structure and staff understood their roles and responsibilities.

• The practice provided a range of enhanced services to meet the needs of the local population.

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

• The provider demonstrated a high level of drive and commitment to learn from incidents, use information, data and feedback to drive improvements and provide high quality care and treatment.

• The practice had good protocols and practices in place to share information and promote the safeguarding of vulnerable children.

• The practice operated a policy whereby they called all patients who had not attended their appointment to ensure they were safe.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice