We carried out a desk based inspection of Straight Road Doctors Surgery on 12 April 2017. The overall rating for the practice was good with a rating of requires improvement for being caring. The full comprehensive report published in June 2017 can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Straight Road Doctors Surgery on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This inspection was an announced focused follow up inspection carried out on 7 March 2018 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to make improvements on the areas that we identified in our previous inspection on 12 April 2017. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also additional improvements made since our last inspection.

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Overall the practice is still rated as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

• Results of the most recent GP patient survey showed improvement in how patients rated the practice in most aspects of care.

• The practice had improved its processes for identifying patients who were carers and had identified 1% of its patient population as such.

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

Importantly, the provider should:

Continue to work on improving patient satisfaction with services provided.

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 Straight Road Surgery on 14 April 2016. The overall rating for the practice was good, however the practice was rated requires improvement for caring. The full comprehensive report on the 14 April 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Straight Road Surgery on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This inspection was a desk-based review carried out on 12 April 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulations that we identified in our previous inspection on 14 April 2016. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also additional improvements made since our last inspection.

Overall the practice remains rated as good. At our previous inspection on 14 April 2016, we rated the practice as requires improvement for providing caring services as data from the national GP patient survey showed patients rated the practice lower than others for some aspects of care. We also found the practice was not proactive about identifying patients who were also carers. At this inspection we found improvements had been made in identifying patients who were also carers. However, patients views about some aspects of care, in spite of efforts made to address them, remained relatively low. Consequently, the practice is still rated as requires improvement for providing caring services.

Our key findings were as follows:

• Results of the most recent GP patient survey show patients rated the practice lower than others for some aspects of care.

• The practice had improved its processes for identifying patients who were also carers.

In addition, at the previous inspection we identified a number of areas where improvements should be made. These were as follows:

• The practice should review its procedure for identifying and assessing risks to patients and staff for example fire drills and basic life support training.

• Consider including details of how to access appointments at the local hub service on the practice website.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made.

• We saw evidence that fire drills were now undertaken every six months. All staff had received basic life support training.

• The availability of services at the local GP hub were advertised at the main entrance to the practice as well as on the practice website. This included opening times, locations and contact details.

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

Importantly, the provider must:

• Continue to seek and act on feedback from patients on the services provided for the purposes of continually evaluating and improving services.

In addition the provider should:

• Continue to review and improve the identification of patients who are also carers to ensure they receive the appropriate level of support.

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 Straight Road Doctors Surgery on 14 April 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect but were not always involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• 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.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• The practice should review its procedure for identifying and assessing risks to patients and staff for example fire drills, medicines and basic life support training
• Ensure the practice actively identifies and supports patients who are also carers.
• Advertise that translation services are available to patients on request.
• Consider including details of how to access appointments at the local hub service on the practice website.
• The practice should ensure patients are provided with suitable information about treatment options available, along with the benefits and risks and are fully involved in making shared decisions about their care.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

People we spoke with told us that the GP or nurse would always take the time to listen to what they had to say and take them seriously. People told us that they had choice about their treatment. For example, which hospital they wished to be referred to. One person told us, “ I could have gone to the anti-natal clinic at Queen’s, King Georges or the local health centre. It was up to me”.

The people we spoke with were very positive about the surgery, one person told us “I used to be afraid to go to my other doctor but now I come here I am fine”. Another said “I like the doctor, he always recognises me and smiles”. People told us that they were always able to get through quickly on the phone and appointments were available within a few days.

Staff we spoke with had a good understanding of safeguarding issues and procedures. They said they knew who to report concerns to and felt comfortable that they could report abuse if necessary. Staff said that they had regular training on safeguarding issues and knew where to access surgery policy if needed.

There were effective recruitment and selection processes in place. When anyone applied to work at the practice they were required to complete a detailed application form or submit a curriculum vitae setting out their previous work experience and details of two suitable referees. We found that proper checks had been undertaken on the people who worked at the surgery.

People who use the service, their representatives and staff were asked for their views about their care and treatment and they were acted on. The practice had a Patient Participant Group (PPG) who told us that the practice was keen to listen to patients views. A patient survey at the beginning of the year had identified that patients wanted, firstly telephone slots each day to speak to the GP or nurse, and secondly to increase the number of emergency appointments available each day. The registered manager told us that they had undertaken both these changes.