We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Pear Tree Surgery on 12 March 2019 as part of our inspection programme. The practice had previously been inspected by CQC on 24 May 2016 and rated as good.

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

• what we found when we inspected
• information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as good overall and good for all population groups.

We found that:

• The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• Urgent same day patient appointments were available when needed. All patients we spoke with and those who completed comment cards before our inspection said they were always able to obtain same day appointments and access care when needed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care delivered in line with current guidelines. Staff had the appropriate skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Results from the national GP patient survey revealed a high level of patient satisfaction about the care given at the practice which was either in-line with or above local and national averages. For example, 94.1% of patients who responded said that the last time they had a general practice appointment, the healthcare professional was good or very good at treating them with care and concern and 99.3% had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to.
• Patients said GPs gave them enough time and treated them with dignity and respect.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• The practice should continue to closely monitor areas of the national GP patient survey that were below the local and national averages for patient access.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGPChief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Pear Tree Surgery on 24 May 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care delivered in line with current guidelines. Staff had the appropriate skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Patients told us they said they were treated with dignity, respect and compassion. Patients were involved decisions about their care and treatment.
• Urgent same day patient appointments were available when needed. All patients we spoke with and those who completed comment cards before our inspection said they were always able to obtain same day appointments.
• Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand. The practice received very few complaints from patients and reviewed complaints to ensure lessons learned were not repeated.
• Patients said GPs gave them enough time.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• There were clearly defined processes and procedures to ensure patients were safe and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events. They were fully reviewed at every staff meeting.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We visited the practice to establish that the needs of patients were being met. Pear Tree Surgery had a branch surgery where their patients had access to clinical services, should this surgery be more convenient. On the day of the inspection we spoke with 11 patients who had accessed both surgeries, seven staff members, two doctors and the practice manager.

The patients we spoke with were generally complimentary of the service provided at the practice. Most patients gave examples of reception staff who had been polite and helpful. They told us that the doctors and nurses took time to listen to them and explain their treatment options.

We looked at the systems in place to ensure staff knew their responsibilities in relation to protecting vulnerable adults and children from abuse. The staff we spoke with had all received training in this area.

Pear Tree Surgery was a dispensing practice. We saw that systems were in place for the safe management of medication. The staff we spoke with had received training in dispensing medication.

In order to monitor the quality of the service it provided the practice had a Patient Participation Group (PPG). PPGs are an effective way for patients and GP surgeries to work together to improve the service and to promote and improve the quality of the care