Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Rope Green Medical Centre on 11 August 2015.

Overall the practice is rated good and outstanding for providing effective care.

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

• The practice was clean and had good facilities including disabled access, lowered reception desks for wheelchair users, hearing loops, and easy read format information and translation facilities.
• The practice had other visiting healthcare professionals available including a physiotherapist, speech therapist, health visitors and podiatrists. There was also a consultant led rheumatology clinic available.
• Information about services and how to complain was available. The practice sought patient views about improvements that could be made to the service, including having a patient participation group (PPG) and acted on feedback.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.
• The practice was very organised and well led. All staff had been at the practice many years and worked well together as a team.

There were areas of outstanding practice including:

• Bespoke reception support for each GP to ensure continuity of care for the patient.
• The practice had trained, experienced nurses for management of long term conditions such as diabetes. Each nurse had their own room containing all the facilities and patient information necessary to deal with that particular medical condition.
• The practice held regular meetings with other healthcare professionals and social services to support patients with more complex needs. The practice had made the decision to continue these meetings even though no further funding arrangements were available to ensure their patients received the best package of seamless joined up care.
• The practice mentored a local Care Home to provide support and training with a monthly meeting to review any hospital admissions/A&E attendances with a view to identifying plans to stop inappropriate attendances and admissions. Following each meeting a significant event analysis form was completed and submitted to the CCG with any outcomes or proposed changes.

However there were improvements the provider should consider:-

• Include the address and contact details of ombudsman services on the practice complaints information for patients.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We reviewed the information available to us about Rope Green Medical Centre on 4 May 2019. We did not find evidence of significant changes to the quality of service being provided since the last inspection. As a result, we decided not to inspect the surgery at this time. We will continue to monitor this information about this service throughout the year and may inspect the surgery when we see evidence of potential changes.