Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of St Lawrence Road Surgery on 2 September 2015. A breach of legal requirements was found, in that a risk assessment had yet to be completed to determine the risks of exposure to legionella. Overall the practice was rated as good with requires improvement for the safe domain.

After the comprehensive inspection, the practice wrote to us to say what action they had, and were taking to meet the legal requirement in relation to the breach.

We undertook a desk based review on 20 July 2016 to check that the provider had completed the required actions, and now met the legal requirement. We did not visit the practice as part of this inspection. 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 Lawrence Road Surgery

 on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Our finding across the area we inspected was as follows:

The practice had taken appropriate action to meet the legal requirement.

Overall the practice is rated good including the safe domain.

An assessment had been completed to determine the risks of exposure to legionella, and an action plan and control measures were in place to eliminate and manage the risks identified in the report to ensure the services were safe.

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 St Lawrence Road Surgery on 2 September 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed, with the exception of those relating to recruitment checks.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion dignity and respect at all times.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. For example, the practice employed a care co-ordinator who was responsible for assessing the discharge information from hospital and out-of-hours services. This information was then used to plan effective care that could reduce the risk of re admission and improve quality of life.

• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• 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.

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

Importantly the provider must

• Ensure that the practice has a risk assessment for legionellawhich is a term for a particular bacterial that can contaminate water systems in buildings .

Importantly the provider should

• Ensure that all staff receive regular appraisals to allow them to identify their training needs.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We reviewed the information available to us about St Lawrence Road Surgery on 11 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.