Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Romney House Surgery on 8 March 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 did not always find it easy to make an appointment, however we saw many examples of urgent appointments available the same day and that there was continuity of care for those patients with complex health needs.
• 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 one area of outstanding practice:

• The practice offered sigmoidoscopy (a routine test to examine the lining of your sigmoid colon), endometrial biopsy (a medical procedure that involves taking a tissue sample of the lining of the uterus), ultrasound coil placement checks and slit lamp eye examinations on site which reduced the need for patients to attend a hospital.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection March 2016 – Good)

The key questions 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 Romney House Surgery on 9 May 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had merged with another practice in Cirencester and the partners were working on developing the practice.
• 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.
• Most patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they could access care when they needed it.
• The practice involved staff in future planning and staff were encouraged to make suggestions for improvement.
• There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

We saw an area of outstanding practice:

• The practice had recently introduced six monthly joint visits between the lead GP for the care homes and the local psychiatrist to review those patients care and medicines to ensure care was optimal.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review the systems for monitoring all prescription forms, fridge temperatures and for the handling and recording of safety alerts.
• Monitor patients’ experience of the service and implement actions to improve these.
• Identify and implement actions to improve uptake for the cervical screening programme.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice