Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Tanfield View Surgery on 19 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, with the exception of those relating to recruitment checks.
• 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, but not with a named GP, with urgent appointments available the same day. Routine appointments were available in two days.
• 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 two areas of outstanding practice:

• The provision of a skin lesion clinic by a GP who had undertaken further training.This enabled patients to be treated closer to home and helped to reduce referrals to secondary care.

• The provision of an ‘unwell children’ clinic every day after school, with appointments with paediatric trained nurses employed by the practice.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Ensure recruitment arrangements include all necessary employment checks for all staff.

• Ensure all statutory notifications to the CQC are sent in a timely manner (for example with regard to registration of manager).

• Ensure that learning from incidents and complaints is fully recorded and cascaded to maximise learning opportunities.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice