Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Medically Ltd. (The Banks Surgery) on 20 July 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 generally well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with 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. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients appreciated being able to speak with a GP and where necessary have an appointment on the same day or pre-booking appointments with a preferred GP
• Urgent appointments were made available for vulnerable patients and unwell children even where the sessions were fully booked.
• The practice had adequate facilities and equipment.
• 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.

However there was an area where the provider should make an improvement:

• The provider should review their response to the results of the National Patient Survey to identify additional actions to drive improvement particularly in the area of GP interactions with patients.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We spoke with several staff who were able to describe their understanding of safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and what they would do if they had any concerns about a patient.

We found that the provider had reviewed what training about safeguarding children and vulnerable adults was needed by staff depending on their roles. There was a record of this and when staff had done their training and when this was due to be updated.

We spoke with seven patients during our inspection. Patients needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual wishes. A patient said: "I feel comfortable enough to talk to my doctor about anything" All the patients we spoke with told us they were able to receive a telephone call back from the doctor or a trained nurse or receive an appointment. This meant that patients were able to get care and treatment when they needed it and when it was convenient for them.The seven patients we spoke with expressed their satisfaction with the service they received from staff at the practice. However most of the patients told us they were dissatisfied with aspects of the building. We found patients complaints had been responded to within the providers timescales, and the doctor replied to the patient with a detailed response. This meant complaints were listened to, taken seriously and considered fully. We found non compliance around safeguarding adults and children from abuse.