Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at South Hiendley Surgery on 3 September 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good for providing safe, effective, responsive and well-led care for all of the population groups it serves.

We specifically found the practice to be outstanding for providing services to people with long term conditions.

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

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles.
• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and to report incidents, near misses and any identified safeguarding issues. There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat and meet the needs of patients.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Urgent appointments were available for patients the same day as requested, although not necessarily with a GP of their choice.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were involved in care and decisions about their treatment.
• The practice sought patient views how improvements could be made to the service, through the use of patient surveys, the NHS Friend and Family test and the patient participation group (PPG).

We saw several areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice routinely screened for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in all patients who were smokers and aged 40 and above; irrespective of any apparent symptoms. This had resulted in a higher than average prevalence of COPD for the practice. As a result of these interventions the practice could evidence a 26% reduction in COPD related hospital admissions, in the previous 12 months.

• The practice had an in-house smoking cessation service which was facilitated by a trained member of staff. Through interventions and support offered they could evidence the number of quitters over the past 12 months. This had resulted in a 16% reduction of registered smokers.

• Staff provided kind, compassionate, caring and responsive services for patients above and beyond expectations. For example, delivering prescribed medicines to some patients who were housebound or found it difficult getting to the surgery. They also delivered food parcels to patients whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice