Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Ravenswood Medical Practice on 12 January 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 to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, and addressed. Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• 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.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

• The practice had a proactive PPG which had been involved in a variety of activities with the practice. For example, the group had worked with the practice following diversion of a local bus route. This had meant that access to the surgery had become difficult for a number of patients. The group had been successful in reinstating the bus route.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Ensure patients in the waiting rooms and throughout the premises are monitored, in case they become suddenly unwell.
• Ensure annual reviews for learning disability, mental health and dementia patients are undertaken timely.
• Improve confidentiality at the front desk.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Ravenswood Medical Practice on 9 January 2019. This was part of our planned inspection programme. 

We previously inspected the practice in February 2016 and it was rated 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.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had 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 and dignity and patients were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment. Arrangements had been improved to maintain confidentiality at the reception desk.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. Patients in the waiting rooms and throughout the premises were monitored, in case they suddenly became unwell.
• GP appointments were initially managed through a GP telephone consultation. Feedback from the National GP Patient Survey identified some patient dissatisfaction in relation to getting through on the telephone, however patients we spoke with and received comments from were positive about the service received and, although there could be a delay, this was minimal. The practice continued to respond to patient feedback.
• There was a supportive culture and a focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the practice. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.

The areas where the provider should make improvements:

• Provide contact information on the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on the practice patient information leaflet for complaints.
• Continue work to reduce the practice’s prescribing for co-amoxiclav, cephalosporins and quinolones.
• Continue to review and improve patient experience when accessing the practice.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGPChief Inspector of General Practice

Please refer to the detailed report and the evidence tables for further information.