Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Lower Broughton Medical Practice 4 on 22 September 2015. 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.
• 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.

• 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 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 one area of outstanding practice:

• There is a weekly “welfare rights/citizen advice/debt advisory” clinic at the health centre for patients. This is well used and the health centre is one of the highest referrers into this service.

However there were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

Importantly the provider should :

• Ensure that there is a record of all meetings that take place both internal and external to the practice and actions from these meetings are recorded.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Staff within the practice consisted of the service provider (the principle GP), a partner GP, a practice manager, practice nurse and reception/administration staff.

Patients had access to a wide range of information and health promotion leaflets. We noted some information on how to access emergency treatment was displayed in other languages. Patients who used the service were given appropriate information and support regarding their care or treatment.

When we spoke with patients, all comments were positive and included: "The GP always has time to listen and you never feel rushed", "This practice is much better than my previous GP", "I have never had a problem getting an appointment, the staff are very helpful and the doctor has been very good" and "The Dr explains everything and if I ask anything he makes sure I understand".

We found staff had an appropriate understanding of safeguarding referrals and the requirement to share sensitive information to safeguard patients. Policy guidance was in place.

The environment was clean and maintained to a good standard. Cleaning schedules were in place and were undertaken by an external company. These were monitored by the practice manager.

The practice had a range of policies, procedures and guidance in place for staff to access, which supported the safe management of the service.