We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Arthur Medical Centre on 3 January 2019 as part of our inspection programme.

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

• What we found when we inspected
• Information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
• Information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as good overall and good for all population groups.

We found that:

• The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• Feedback from patients was consistently positive and was higher than local and national averages.
• There was a strong person-centred culture.
• Services were tailored to meet the needs of individual patients. They were delivered in a flexible way that ensured choice and continuity of care.
• Patients reported that access to the practice was good and the practice made appointments available which were suitable for the patient’s needs. The practice constantly monitored access to the surgery.
• The culture of the practice and the way it was led and managed drove the delivery and improvement of high-quality, person-centred care.
• The practice had developed templates to ensure all clinicians were using up-to-date, agreed templates. We were told that this improved the safety of work carried out by new members of staff and clinical trainees. All templates had national and local guidance embedded within them via hyperlinks. The templates also promoted patient safety through prompts for clinicians during and after consultations to ensure referrals and investigations were completed.
• The practice website contained information on self-care and health information on a wide variety of conditions.
• The practice had a range of audits which demonstrated ongoing quality improvement within the practice.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

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

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We inspected this service on 1 December 2014 as part of our new comprehensive inspection programme. The practice is located at Main Street, Horsley Woodhouse, Ilkeston, Derbyshire DE7 6AX.

The overall rating for this practice is good. We found the practice to be good in all five domains: safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. We found the practice provided good care to older people and families, children and young people, people with long-term conditions, working age people, people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable and people experiencing poor mental health.

Our key findings were as follows:

• Patients were kept safe because there were arrangements in place for staff to report and learn from key safety risks. The practice had very proactive systems in place in respect of medicines maximisation; employing two pharmacists, one of whom was a clinical pharmacist and an independent prescriber, able to see patients independently and in clinics. Two nurses were also independent prescribers with another undergoing training.

• There were systems in place to keep patients safe from the risk and spread of infection. Systems were in place to monitor and make required improvements to infection control at the practice.

• Patients were very satisfied with how they were treated and this was with compassion, dignity and respect. GPs and nurses were good at listening to patients and gave them enough time.

• Most patients reported they got an appointment when needed.

• GPs, nurses and clinical pharmacists were trained to meet a wide range of needs and the practice was very proactive at trying to prevent unplanned admissions to hospital. 2.69% of patients at risk of unplanned admissions had RightCare care plans; this was one of the highest rates in the CCG.

• The practice had good means of communication with patients through a newsletter, website, and practice leaflets. It also had an active patient participation group that had contributed to positive improvements at the practice.

• The practice was well led and inclusive involving internal and external staff in the development of the service. There were whole team events and weekly meetings between the GPs, the registrars and the district nurses to discuss more challenging situations and promote effective multi-disciplinary working.

The provider should:

• Ensure all policies are reviewed and up to date

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice