Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Cranborne Practice on Tuesday 29 November 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.
• This dispensing practice had safe and effective systems for the management and dispensing of medicines, which kept patients safe.
• 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.
• 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 had a clear ethos which had quality and safety as its top priority. The ethos was to provide the highest standard of individualised healthcare in a safe, friendly and welcoming environment.
• The practice had an active Patient Participation Group (PPG) which met twice a year and carried out patient surveys annually. The PPG provided us with positive feedback about the practice.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

The practice was the first in Dorset to fund the “Tracker” system, which had been adopted across the Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). Tracker monitors patients falling outside of health and social care and provides support via a health and social care co-ordinator who liaised between local support agencies, community nurses and the practice team. Patients then receive personal care, meals on wheels, household maintenance or other relevant support according to need. Tracker currently supported 400 patients at this practice, which was 4% of the patient list.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice