Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Stokenchurch Medical Centre on 25 May 2016. 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 report incidents and near misses. All opportunities for learning from internal and external incidents were maximised.

• 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. For example, the practice had invited the mobile breast screening unit to Stokenchurch.

• The practice had good modern facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.

• Feedback from patients and external stakeholders including the local nursing home and two care homes for adults with severe learning and physical disabilities which Stokenchurch Medical Centre provided the GP service for was consistently positive.

• The majority of patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with their named GP, with urgent appointments available the same day. There was mixed feedback about the new urgent clinics which commenced in October 2015.

• The practice actively reviewed complaints and how they are managed and responded to, and made improvements as a result.

• The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority. The strategy to deliver this vision had been produced with stakeholders and was regularly reviewed and discussed with staff.

• The practice had clear and visible clinical and managerial leadership and supporting governance arrangements.

However, there were areas where the provider needs to make improvements. Importantly the provider should:

• Continue to encourage patient participation in completing the NHS Friends and Family Test whilst reviewing results from the GP national survey. Notably results on satisfaction scores for Stokenchurch Medical Centres opening hours and patient satisfaction of the revised appointment process, specifically the urgent clinics which commenced in October 2015.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice