Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Uplands Medical Practice on 1 May 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

We found the practice to be good for providing safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led services. services.

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. Significant events were investigated and changes to practice made where necessary.
• 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 emergency appointment but routine appointments were more difficult to access.
• 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.

There were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

Importantly the provider should:

• The provider should make changes to the way significant events are recorded so it is clear who is responsible for implementing any actions required, and a timescale for implementing actions is given.
• The provider should look at increasing the number of clinical audits carried out, making sure audit cycles are completed so any improvements can be evidenced.
• The provider should consider introducing clinical protocols to link their practices with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• The provider should have a formal appraisal meeting with all staff.
• The provider should carry out Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for all staff who carry out chaperone duties.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice