Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Newton Heath Health Centre on 9 June 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing well-led, effective, caring, responsive and safe services. It was also good for providing services for the populations groups we rate.

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.
• 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, however there was no evidence of the system being put into practice.
• Patients provided varied feedback on accessing appointments, with a number of patients reporting difficulties getting on the day appointments; however patients reported when they got appointments these were convenient.
• 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.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice