Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Family Surgery on 9 March 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. All opportunities for learning from internal and external incidents were maximised.

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events and the practice shared these with other providers. 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.

• Feedback from patients about their care was consistently and strongly positive. Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.

• 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.

• The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority. The strategy to deliver this vision had been produced with stakeholders and was regularly reviewed and discussed with staff.

• The practice had strong and visible clinical and managerial leadership and governance arrangements and staff felt supported by management.

• The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.

• The practice actively reviewed complaints and how they are managed and made improvements as a result.

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

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice used every opportunity to learn from internal and external incidents to improve patient safety and to make improvements to patient care. Learning was based on a thorough analysis and investigation of all incidents, both internal and external, and lessons were shared both internally and externally.
• An annual staffing needs audit is carried out to ensure administrative and technological demands of delivering the GP contract are being met. Appropriate changes are implemented promptly.

There was one area where the provider should make improvements:

• The provider should review arrangements for patients to access a female GP.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice