Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Regents Park Practice on 21 January 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• 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 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 and easy to understand.
• 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. However some patients expressed the view that it was difficult to make an appointment by telephone.
• 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.
• The provider had been involved with Clinical Commissioning Group pilot schemes that had been rolled out within the wider CCG area including the care co-ordinator and rapid response GP initiative.

The area where the provider should make improvement is :

• To look at ways to improve cervical screening results.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We spoke with four patients, the practice manager and a doctor. We spent time observing the staff interaction with patients in the waiting area. Patients told us that medical staff were “polite and friendly”. However, patients’ views about their treatment by the reception staff were varied with some stating that they were satisfied and others saying that they were not happy.

Patients’ privacy and dignity was respected. We noted that the practice ensured that an interpretation service was available for patients who spoke other languages. We saw that patients’ records were regularly updated and were fit for purpose.

The practice had a system in place which allowed patients to comment on the quality of the service. There was also an effective safeguarding procedure in place. We noted staff had support and training which ensured that they provided care and treatment that that met patients’ needs.

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous rating 01 2016 – Good)

The key questions at this inspection are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Regents Park Practice on 13 July 2018. We carried out this inspection as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice’s uptake for cervical screening and breast and bowel cancer screening was below the national average.
• 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.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are to:

• Consider developing a business plan to show the goals for the development of the practice.
• Consider ways to improve uptake of its cervical, breast and bowel cancer screening programmes for the benefit of patients.
• Consider placing a second thermometer in each of the vaccine fridges to improve temperature monitoring.
• Continue to review the practice opening hours to improve patient access.

Professor Steve Field

CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

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