Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Park House Medical Centre on 5 October 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• The practice is situated in a purpose built health centre which also accommodates a community clinics and another practice. The practice was clean and had good facilities including disabled access and translation services.
• The practice had some staffing issues and had recruited two new GPs six weeks before our inspection. There was a shortfall of reception and administration staff due to absence and staff felt under pressure but had coped with the workload. The practice management were aware of this and were addressing the issue.
• There were systems in place to mitigate safety risks including analysing significant events and safeguarding.
• The practice was aware of and had systems in place to ensure compliance with the requirements of the duty of candour. (The duty of candour is a set of specific legal requirements that providers of services must follow when things go wrong with care and treatment).
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered in line with current legislation.
• 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. The practice sought patient views about improvements that could be made to the service; including having a patient participation group (PPG) and acted, where possible, on feedback.
• Staff worked well together as a team and all felt supported to carry out their roles.

There were some elements of outstanding practice including:

The practice had encouraged the career progression of staff and empowered them to be part of the ongoing development of the practice. For example, the health care assistant had started at the practice originally as a receptionist and the practice had encouraged her to train for a health care qualification. The healthcare assistant had produced some work to help staff and patients that had been adopted by the practice and the CCG. For example:

• A document to simplify the instructions for staff using the computer software.
• A health check booklet for new patient checks to explain what the results of their checks meant and should be and supporting information about healthy living. This had been adopted by the CCG to be rolled out to other practices.
• A welcome pack for new patients
• Information for borderline diabetic patients
• Documents to give a clear audit trail for prescription collection.
• Information cards for GPs to give out to patients who were identified as carers.

However, there were improvements the practice should make:

• Have a notice at the reception window to direct patients to who they can contact when the practice is closed.

• Assess any risk and implement a lone working policy for GPs on call in the building when the practice is closed.

• Have a more robust system in place to monitor training for staff and ensure all staff complete mandatory training for equality and diversity, mental capacity and fire safety.

• Have a greater degree of oversight for information regarding health and safety legislation for the building.

• Ensure references are also sought for non-clinical staff and retained.

• Display appropriate safety signs for where the oxygen is stored and ensure this is marked on the map of the building at the entrance to ensure fire crews know oxygen is on the premises.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice