This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous rating January 2016 – Good)

The key questions at this inspection are rated as:

Are services safe? – Requires Improvement

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Outstanding

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at St Stephen’s Gate Medical Practice on 25 October 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they could access care when they needed it.
• There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

We rated the practice as outstanding for caring services because:

• The practice had created a strong, visible patient-centred culture, demonstrated and valued by staff and supported by leaders. People valued their relationships with the staff team and felt that they often go ‘the extra mile’ for them when providing care and support. This culture was reflected in consistently, significantly higher than local and national average GP patient survey data and other patient feedback. For example, 100% of respondents to the GP patient survey in 2018 stated that the last time they had a general practice appointment, the healthcare professional was good or very good at listening to them.

The areas where the provider must make improvements as they are in breach of regulations are:

• Establish and operate effectively systems and processes to ensure good governance.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review and improve systems for reviewing and recording external safety alerts.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

Please refer to the detailed report and the evidence tables for further information.

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at St Stephens Gate Medical Practice on 18th November 2015.

We have rated the practice overall as providing a good service. Specifically we found the practice to be good for providing safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led services. It was also found to be providing good services across all the patient population groups.

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.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• 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 should:

• Ensure all staff have training relevant to their roles and responsibilities in order to safely undertake that role.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice