Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Omnia Practice on 1 April 2016. 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 report incidents and near misses. Opportunities for learning from internal and external incidents were maximised.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment. There was a strong culture for learning. Staff received regular supervision and learning opportunities.
• The practice worked closely with other services and with the local community to ensure patients’ needs were met. The practice offered a variety of in-house services for the convenience of patients for diagnosis and treatment. For example, sexual health services.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• The practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a consequence of feedback from patients and from the patient participation group. This included changes to telephone system, staffing in reception and changes within the premises. The practice explored and used new ways for communicating with its population, such as twitter. There was an attention to detail when delivering care for example in ensuring continuity of care, while maintaining confidentiality and infection control.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. The practice allowed its premises for use by community groups and services that would enhance the wellbeing of its population. For example, Saheli exercise classes for women, Age UK and carers groups.
• Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand
• There was strong leadership within the practice and staff felt well supported.

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice provided dedicated sexual health and contraceptive services for registered and non-registered patients under the Umbrella Scheme. The Umbrella scheme which is part of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust aims to improve access and outcomes for patients in sexual health. Trained staff provided contraceptive and family planning services and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases to registered and non-registered patients with the practice on a walk in basis. The practice also offered training (and had qualified trainers) for health professionals as part of the sexual and reproductive health diploma course.

• Carers were well supported at the practice. The practice had a carers champion and ran a carers’ group open to carers within the locality. Carers did not need to be registered with the practice to join. Members of the group spoke highly of the support they had received and had access to external speakers. Information for carers was displayed prominently to encourage carers to come forward. The practice also hosted from the premises a new scheme with Age UK to provide social support for those who were isolated.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice