Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Pasley Road Health Centre - G Singh on 17 November 2015. 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. Staff reflected on incidents and discussed ways to learn for the future.

• Feedback from patients about their care was consistently and strongly positive.

• The practice worked closely with other organisations and with the local community in planning how services were provided to ensure that they meet people’s needs. For example the Patient Participation Group were involved in the development of the new building and looking at other organisations and services could make use of the building.

• 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.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• The practice manager reviewed capacity and patient demand daily and appointments were flexed accordingly to ensure demand was a priority.
• 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.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• 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 practice regularly audited processes. There had been 12 audits/reviews completed in the past two years where improvements made were implemented and monitored.

• The practice had appointments every Saturday from 7am to 12pm with the GP or nurse. These could be used for routine appointments or for vaccinations, immunisations if patients were unable to attend during the week.

• Same day appointments were available for children and those with serious medical conditions and to any other patients that telephoned at 8.30am or 12pm.

We saw two areas of outstanding practice including:

• The practice had patient champions. These were two patients that had received treatment from the practice following diagnosis of cancer following screening programmes. Both patients had their photograph on the notice board and their story of how the screening programme and the practice had saved their lives. The patients wanted to share their stories to promote screening and for cancer. The review on screening that had been completed by the practice had seen an increase in all of the screening programmes since the champions had been promoted.

• The practice held an open day each year for all patients. The last open day was attended by approximately 300 patients. The practice provided a lunch on the day and patients were able to access information and have the flu vaccines. This was supported by the PPG and other agencies were invited to attend, for example, Age UK, Police, and Fire Service. This gave the patients and the staff opportunity to meet on an informal basis.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice