Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Sunnybank Medical Centre on 12 April 2016. Overall the practice was rated as good. However, the practice was rated as requires improvement in the key question of Responsive. After the inspection the practice wrote to us to say what they would do to meet the requirements in relation to the responsiveness of the practice.

We undertook a focussed follow up inspection at Sunnybank Medical Centre on 2 March 2017 to check that the practice had made the improvements required. This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements. The practice is now rated as good for providing responsive services.

You can read the full comprehensive report which followed the inspection in April 2016 by selecting the 'all reports' link for Sunnybank Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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

• There was a leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on. For example, the practice health champions asked for feedback from patients.

• The practice had implemented ways of ensuring patients had access to prompt medical care. The practice had an on call system every weekday from 8:30am to 5:50pm which extended to 8pm on Mondays.

The provider should:

• The provider should continue to monitor and take steps to improve patient’s satisfaction with access to the practice by telephone.

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 Sunnybank Medical Centre on 12 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.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff were 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 and they were involved in decisions about their care and treatment.

• The practice proactively sought to educate their patients to manage their medical conditions and improve their wellbeing, assisted by having additional in house services available on a regular basis. These included visiting a physiotherapist, citizen’s advice worker, counsellor and well-being worker.

• 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 provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

• Pain management clinics were effective. Acupuncture sessions were offered by the practice. A recent review of pain scores showed 60% (38 of 64) of patients benefitted and as a result there was a reduction in the use of analgesic medications (analgesic medicationsare medications designed to relieve the symptoms of pain).

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• As the patient survey results are lower than national averages the practice should ensure the issues identified are addressed.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as good overall. The practice had previously been inspected in April 2016 when it was rated good overall and requires improvement in providing responsive services. A follow up focused inspection in March 2017 rated responsive services as good.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Sunnybank Medical Centre on 26 April 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. The practice had carried out several full two cycle clinical audits to drive improvement.
• The practice had carried out their own patient survey and identified improvements following lower than average satisfaction results in the national GP patient survey 2017. This included a review of patient access and increased availability of book on the day appointments.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. The majority of patient comment cards we collected during the inspection were very positive about the care and services offered. However, several said that appointments were hard to access and occasionally reception staff were unhelpful.
• The practice offered a number of enhanced services, extended hours on a Monday evening and appointments with a wide range of health professionals including pharmacists. The provider also hosted secondary care clinics for cardiology and dermatology consultations, which was of benefit to registered patients and other local people.
• There was an active patient group that worked closely with the staff team. The group helped patients through the development of patient champions and wellbeing groups such as walking and relaxation.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning at all levels of the organisation. The provider had undertaken a comprehensive staff satisfaction survey across the whole staff team and implemented several initiatives to improve wellbeing and staff support.
• The clinical team were collaborative and supportive. A daily clinical briefing session was held during the morning to discuss any complex or urgent issues that needed discussion or resolution.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• The provider should continue to identify the number of carers within the practice population.
• The provider should continue to review and act on areas of patient satisfaction highlighted in the national GP patient survey, that are lower than the national average.

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