Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 13 September 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.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• 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.
• The practice had a strong culture of learning and improvement, and supported staff to develop their skills and roles within the practice.
• 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. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and 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.
• The practice patient participation group was actively involved in the running and future development of the practice, as well as engaging with the patient population.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

• The practice patient participation group (PPG) was closely involved in the running of the practice, organising health promotion events and improving practice performance. In addition to monthly PPG meetings with guest speakers, annual patient surveys and regular health talks, the PPG chair had been invited to attend receptionist meetings and was given a tour of the practice staff areas to better understand how it was run. The PPG had also campaigned to win funding from the local Clinical Commissioning Group to install television screens in the practice; these screens were used to play a short film made by the PPG about its work and local health issues. A PPG newsletter was posted to patients who were being invited to attend chronic illness reviews, and also to housebound patients, in an effort to reach out to these groups of patients. The PPG, with the support of the practice had helped to establish a network of PPGs in the Lambeth area in order to discuss local issues and share information, as well as developing its own set of “gold standards”, and a toolkit which had been sent to all practices in the area.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice