Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Surbiton Health Centre (Langley Medical Practice) on 7 January 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 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 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.

• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

The practice provided in-house clinics for

dermoscopy and dermatology (including cryotherapy), musculoskeletal medicine, gynaecology (including chlamydia screening and coil fitting), and a nurse-led  chronic obstructive pulmonary disease clinic. The impact of providing these specialist services had been reviewed by the practice, and they had identified a significant reduction in hospital referrals, for example, referrals had reduced by

53% for dermatology, 27% for orthopaedics, and 14% for respiritory medicine.

However there were areas of practice where the provider should make improvements:

• The practice should consider whether any action should be taken in response to patient feedback about the difficulties in contacting the practice by phone.

• The practice should review the information available in the waiting area and consider whether additional health promotion literature should be made available.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice