Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We had carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of Sky Blue Medical Group on 19 November 2015. As a result of our inspection the practice was rated as good overall but required improvement for providing safe services.

During the last inspection we identified a breach of regulation around safe care and treatment. As a result we identified areas the provider must improve:

• Implement a suitable system for the management and stock control of all prescriptions.
• Establish a process to ensure appropriate checks were carried out on locum GPs recruited by an agency to work at the practice.

We also identified further areas the provider should improve:

• Training records should accurately reflect the current status for all staff.
• All staff who chaperone should be suitably trained for the role and that all required security checks had been carried out in line with the provider’s own policy.

Following the inspection the practice sent us an action plan detailing the actions they were going to take to improve.

We carried out a focused desk-based review of Sky Blue Medical Group on 16 February 2017 to check that the provider had made improvements in line with our recommendations and to ensure regulations were now being met. This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements. The full comprehensive report for the November 2015 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Sky Blue Medical Group on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

The practice is now rated as good for the provision of safe services.

As part of our focused desk-based review the management team provided evidence to demonstrate that:

• A suitable system for the management and stock control of all prescriptions had been established and was fully embedded.

• A process had been implemented that ensured appropriate checks were carried out for locum GPs recruited by an agency to work at the practice.

• Training records had been updated and maintained so they accurately reflected the training completed and planned for all staff.
• Staff had received appropriate chaperone training and all required security checks for staff undertaking chaperone duties had been carried out in line with the provider’s own policy. The management team provided evidence to demonstrate that appropriate checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) had been completed for relevant staff. (DBS checks identify whether a person has a criminal record or is on an official list of people barred from working in roles where they may have contact with children or adults who may be vulnerable).

We were satisfied that the practice had made the required improvements.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Sky Blue Medical Practice, Green Lane Medical Centre on 19 November 2015. The overall rating for this service is good.

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

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. Learning from incidents was shared with staff at meetings relevant to their roles and responsibilities.

• Information was provided to help patients understand the care available to them. Patients told us they were treated kindly and respectfully by staff at the practice. Their treatment options were explained to them so they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff told us that training appropriate to their roles had been carried out.

• Information about how to complain was easy to understand and available in practice leaflets and on the practice website.

• 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 practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a consequence of feedback from patients and from the Patient Participation Group (PPG).

However there are areas where improvements are needed.

The areas the provider must make improvements are:

• A suitable system and procedure must be in place for the management and stock control of all prescriptions.

• A process must be in place to ensure appropriate checks have been carried out on locum GPs recruited by an agency to work at the practice.

The areas the provider should make improvements are:

• Ensure that training records accurately reflect current status for all staff.

• Ensure that all staff who chaperone are suitably trained for the role and that all required security checks have been carried out in line with the provider’s own policy.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice