Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Riverside Practice on 14 October 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 been trained to provide them with 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. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• 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 was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice facilitated a health trainer and actively promoted their role to patients. The trainer provided a range of services to promote a healthier life style. These included chair based exercises for less mobile patients, a walking group and shopping trips to advise patients on healthy eating. The practice referred all pre-diabetic patients identified to the health trainer with an aim to reduce the onset of diabetes.

The area where the provider should make an improvement is:

• Continue to encourage patients to attend national screening programmes such as bowel and breast screening.
• Continue to investigate ways to improve telephone access to the practice for patients.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Riverside Practice was a welcoming surgery with friendly and courteous staff. A variety of information was displayed in the waiting room and other areas for the benefit of the people who use the service. This information consisted of a practice newsletter and leaflets on health promotion and community support services. Translation facilities were available to people, if they were required.

People’s consent had been gained by GPs prior to them providing treatment and advice where this was necessary.

We spoke with eight people who all spoke highly of the services provided to them. We also spoke with staff who said they enjoyed working in the practice and felt supported in their roles. We received some criticisms from people about making appointments, although this was balanced by positive comments about their experiences of being given appointments. One person said, "All the staff are polite and pleasant." Another person told us, "I have usually managed to see the same doctor, although I know that if I want an emergency appointment I understand that I may have to see any of the doctors working here."

Staff had received training in safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and were knowledgeable about safeguarding procedures. They were aware of the systems to refer safeguarding concerns to ensure that patients were protected from risks of harm.

We found the premises were spacious and visibly clean and had been safely maintained.