Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at the Grey Road Surgery on 3 December 2015.

Overall the practice is rated good.

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

• The practice was clean and had good facilities including disabled access, translation services and a hearing loop. One member of staff was also trained in sign language for the deaf.

• There were systems in place to mitigate safety risks including analysing significant events and safeguarding.

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered in line with current legislation.

• Information about services and how to complain was available. The practice sought patient views about improvements that could be made to the service, including having a patient participation group (PPG) and acted on feedback.

• Staff worked well together as a team and all felt supported to carry out their roles.

There were areas of improvements the provider should consider:-

• Having a formal business plan.

• Carrying out formal appraisals for salaried GPs.

• Train all clinical staff in the use of oxygen.

• Have a clearer audit trail of actions taken as a result of significant events.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection 3 December 2015– Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Grey Road Surgery on 27 April 2018 as part of our inspection programme

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
• The practice employed a pharmacist to cover all medication reviews and to deal with medication changes identified in secondary care letters.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients were able to access care and treatment from the practice on the same day that they requested it.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

There was an area of outstanding practice:

• The practice informed us that they had had implemented direct patient ordering for repeat prescriptions in 2016, as they recognised safety concerns of over prescribing from pharmacies. This system has been adopted by the local clinical commissioning group and rolled out for all practices in the area.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGPChief Inspector of General Practice