Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this practice on 9 October 2014. A breach of legal requirements was found. After the comprehensive inspection, the practice wrote to us to say what they would do to meet legal requirements in relation to Regulation 13 Health & Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 Management of medicines.

We undertook this focused inspection on 30 November 2015 to check that they had followed their plan and to confirm that they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Scots Gap Medical Group on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Our key findings were as follows:

• Patients were protected against the risks associated with the unsafe use and management of medicines, by means of the making of appropriate arrangements for the recording, handling, using and dispensing of medicines used for the purposes of the regulated activity

However, there was also an area of practise where the provider needs to make improvements.

The provider should:

• Monitor the new process of signing repeat prescriptions before they are issued to patients. This is in order to demonstrate these improvements become embedded into practise in the long term.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We inspected Scots Gap Medical Group on 9 October 2014 and visited the main surgery in Scots Gap and the branch surgery in Stamfordham. We inspected this service as part of our new comprehensive inspection programme. This provider had not been inspected before and that was why we included them.

Overall, we rated the practice as good, although there were some areas where the practice need to take action. Our key findings were as follows:

• Patients reported good access to the practice and continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• Patients said, and our observations confirmed, they were treated with kindness and respect.
• Patient outcomes were at or above average for the locality and good practice guidance was referenced and used routinely.
• The practice was visibly clean and tidy.
• The practice learned from incidents and took action to prevent a recurrence.

We saw the following area of outstanding practice:

• The practice was considered to be outstanding in terms of their caring approach. Patients were respected and valued as individuals by the practice staff and feedback from patients reflected this.

However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements. 

Importantly, the practice must:

• Improve the way they manage medicines.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice