Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Sheldon Practice in Solihull on 20 January 2017. 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 to report incidents and near misses. The practice had identified, recorded and analysed significant events in order to identify areas of learning and improvement and so mitigate the risk of further occurrence.
• There were arrangements to safeguard children and vulnerable adults from abuse, and local requirements and policies were accessible to all staff.
• 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 the 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.
• Clinical audits were carried out to demonstrate quality improvement and to improve patient care and treatment.
• The practice had been through a period of change with an extension to the premises during 2016. Patients told us that services had been continuous during this period and staff had worked very hard to accommodate patients.
• The practice worked closely with other organisations in planning how services were provided to ensure that they meet patients’ needs.
• Staff worked with multidisciplinary teams to understand and meet the range and complexity of patients’ needs. Staff spoke positively about the team and about working at the practice
• 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 provider was aware of the requirements of the duty of candour.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice