Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 26 May 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 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 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.
• A daily walk-in clinic was available, without the need for patients to make an appointment.
• 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.

We noted an aspect of outstanding practice:

• GPs had visited a nearby hostel to opportunistically target residents who were registered as homeless, to encourage the uptake of annual health checks. The practice had a total of 109 patients on its homeless register. It had carried out health checks on 86 patients (79%), offering flu vaccinations and screening for blood-borne viruses.

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

• It should continue to monitor the gender mix of locums, as appropriate, to allow male patients some choice in seeing a male GP.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We inspected the practice on the 22 January 2013. We spoke with the registered manager, who was one of the partners, the salaried doctor and a registrar who was working at the surgery to gain general practice experience. There were no practice nurses working at the surgery. We also spoke with two administrative staff. Staff told us they were appropriately supported to carry out their responsibilities. It was apparent that the staff team was efficient, friendly and worked well together. They clearly took pride in the service.

We looked at a number of medical records and other records relating to the service. The records were well-maintained and the practice had appropriate policies and guidance, which were up-to-date and regularly reviewed.

We spoke with six people attending the morning surgery. The people were very happy with the service. They were pleased to be able to attend the walk-in morning surgery. They also said that it was easy to make appointments that were convenient to them. They told us that the staff were polite and treated them with respect. They said the doctors took time to fully explain issues regarding their health and answered any questions they had.

Access for wheelchair users and people with mobility problems was difficult due to the layout of the premises. The surgery occupied the basement of a listed block of flats, which limited any rebuilding work that could be done. Home visits were arranged for people who could not attend the surgery for health reasons or who might have difficulties with access.

There was an active patients’ representative group, allowing people who used the service to provide regular feedback and be involved in decision-making.