Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Grove Medical Centre on 23 May 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. There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events. All opportunities for learning from internal and external incidents were maximised.

• The practice used innovative and proactive methods to improve patient outcomes, working with other local providers to share best practice. For example, the practice was approached by other providers in the area to take over their practices following retirement.

• Feedback from patients about their care was consistently positive. Several patients told us that the GPs would often call in on housebound patients and those with palliative care needs, without being asked. When the other practices were merged, staff took time and effort to engage with patients to provide a service tailored to the needs of each site.

• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.

• The practice worked closely with other organisations and with the local community in planning how services were provided to ensure that they meet patients’ needs. For example, to maintain consistency with long term condition management across town boundaries, the Advanced Nurse Practitioners would undertake long term condition reviews for housebound patients where required.

• The practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a consequence of feedback from patients and from the patient participation group.

• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• The practice actively reviewed complaints and how they are managed and responded to, and made improvements as a result.
• 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.

We saw areas of outstanding practice including:

• Several patients told us that the GPs would often call in on housebound patients and those with palliative care needs, without being asked.
• The practice had developed its own easy to read leaflet which clearly explained to parents and carers how and when they should seek urgent medical help with an unwell child. There was a policy displayed and promoted, stating that all unwell children would be seen on the day.

• We saw evidence of teamwork within the practice with adult safeguarding and a close working relationship with outside agencies such as the adult safeguarding team and the local authority. We saw examples of where GPs had gone out of their way and beyond usual duties to ensure patients were safe and protected. We observed evidence of this.

• Staff told us there was a commitment to development and training in any areas that might benefit patients. All staff were learning British Sign Language (BSL) to be more welcoming and inclusive for a family of patients who used BSL to communicate.

• Ability to listen to the Patient Participation Group (PPG) and act on patient feedback was excellent.

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