Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection December 2014 – Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:

Older People – Good

People with long-term conditions – Good

Families, children and young people – Good

Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good

People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good

People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Park Lane House Medical Centre on 18 December 2017 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.

• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.

• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.

• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

We saw two areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice had a designated clinician who reviewed all National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance and produced information sheets for all clinicians to support their clinical care. The practice also had NICE guidance as a standing agenda item for clinical meetings.

• The practice had developed a gender reassignment policy and procedure and sought input from a local lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender (LGBT) charity to ensure it met the needs and expectations of this patient group. This policy was to be shared within the practice and the practice website.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This is the report of findings from our inspection of Park Lane House Medical Centre. The practice is registered with the CQC to provide primary care services. We undertook a planned, comprehensive inspection on 9 December 2014 and we spoke with patients, relatives, staff and the practice management team.

The practice was rated as Good.

Our key findings were as follows:

• The practice had good systems in place to ensure patients and staff were kept safe. However we found that fitness checks for staff were not undertaken for practice roles that required this.
• Patient’s needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered in line with current legislation and best practice guidelines.
• Patients were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and that they were involved in care and treatment decisions.
• Systems were in place to ensure the needs of the local population were identified and met.
• The practice had a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. There were systems in place to monitor and improve quality and identify risk, this included proactive engagement with the practice Patient Participation Group (PPG).

There were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

The provider should:

• Ensure doctors have available emergency drugs or have in place a risk assessment to support their decision not to have these available for use in a patient’s home.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice