Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out a comprehensive inspection at Riverside Health Centre on 25 October 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Staff members knew how to raise concerns, and report safety incidents. Safety information was recorded and lessons learned were identified and shared with staff members.
• Risks to patients and staff members were assessed and documented regularly including those associated with; premises, equipment, medicines, fire safety, and infection control.
• The dispensary policies and procedures were appropriate to keep people safe
• Patient care and treatment was planned using current clinical guidance.
• Patient comments were enthusiastic and positive about the practice.
• Information regarding how to complain was available at the practice and on their website.
• Patients told us there were urgent appointments available on the day they requested.
• The practice had appropriate facilities and equipment to treat patients and meet their health and treatment needs.
• The practice patient participation group (PPG) could demonstrate their involvement with practice development.
• Staff members told us they were supported in their working roles by the practice management and the GPs.
• The leadership structure was clear and staff felt supported by management.

The area where the provider should make improvement:

• Record near misses when dispensing to minimise the chance of similar errors re-occurring.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Riverside Health Centre (here-after in the report referred to as ‘the practice’) provides primary medical services to people in the town of Manningtree and the surrounding areas. The practice has a dispensary on site to dispense medicines to those people registered at the practice that live remotely from a pharmacy.

We found the practice was safe, effective, caring, well-led and responsive. The practice had arrangements to provide health care services for older people (those over 75 years), people with long-term conditions, mothers, babies, children and young people. There were services for people in vulnerable circumstances who may have poor access to primary care and people experiencing a mental health problem. The practice was able to provide services for the working age population and those recently retired (aged up to 74).

We spoke with eight patients during our inspection. They gave us positive comments regarding the care and treatment they had received.  We received positive comments from 14 patients registered at the practice, on comment cards we had left for completion by those attending the practice.

We also spoke with staff in care homes, and with health care professionals who support people who use the services provided at the practice. Both the care homes and the healthcare professionals gave positive comments regarding the contact they had with the practice.

The practice had a management structure that ensured the smooth running of the services provided. Staff told us that they felt supported and valued. There were systems in place that identified relevant legislation, latest best practice and evidence based guidelines and standards which contributed to effective patient care. The practice carried out clinical and environmental audits to check the quality of care provided.