Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Parks Medical Centre- B Hainsworth on 29 July 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

The Parks Medical Centre is a GP practice providing primary care services to a population of approximately 4,750 patients in Leicester. There are two partners in the practice. The partners are supported by a locum GP, a practice manager, a practice nurse and two administration/reception staff.

As part of the inspection we talked with the local Clinical Commissioning Group, the local Healthwatch, three representatives of the Patient Participation Group, patients who were at the practice on the day of the inspection, two GPs and other clinical and non-clinical staff at the practice. We also provided comment cards for patients to complete prior to our inspection.

All of the patients we spoke with were very positive about the care and treatment they received and they were complimentary about the staff at the practice. We received positive comments from patients who had completed comment cards prior to our inspection visit. Most of these stated that they were happy with the support, care and treatment provided all staff.

We found that the practice provided a caring, effective, and responsive service to a wide range of patient population groups, including those of working age and recently retired, mothers with babies, young children, and young patients, older patients (over 75), patients with long-term conditions, people in vulnerable circumstances and those patients experiencing mental health problems.

There were child and adult safeguarding policies and procedures in place and systems to ensure that staff were alerted to promptly to any concerns. Protocols were in place in regard to the prescribing of medicines for any patient identified as being at risk due to drug dependency. Prescribing was only undertaken by a GP which allowed them to be alerted to any early repeat medicine requests as this was flagged on the system.

The service was caring with all staff displaying a positive attitude towards patients and their care and treatment.

The care and treatment provided to patients was effective. There was evidence of robust clinical audits taking place to ensure positive outcomes for patients.

We found that the practice was responsive to patients’ needs. The practice, along with the support of their Patient Participation Group, enabled patients to voice their views and opinions in relation to the quality of the services they received. Complaints were investigated and responded to and lessons were learned to improve practice.

The management team provided open, inclusive and visible leadership to the staff. Governance arrangements were in place, to continuously improve the practice. Both patients and staff were encouraged and supported to be actively involved in the quality and monitoring of services provided, in order to ensure improvements were made if required.

We found the practice was in breach of the regulations related to:

Management of Medicines

There were some aspects of the way in which the practice was managed that did not support a safe service. We were concerned about the adequacy of checks on medicines and that some medicines had not been stored securely. It was also evident that not all equipment was checked to ensure it was safe to use.

Safety of premises.

Risks to the practice and service provision had not always been appropriately identified and action taken to reduce or remove the risk.

Please note that when referring to information throughout this report, for example any reference to the Quality and Outcomes Framework data, this relates to the most recent information available to the CQC at that time.