Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Vine House Health Centre on 17 January 2017. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed. However aspects of recording primary health care team meetings and noting the presence of a chaperone during a clinical examination needed strengthening.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance using in-house protocols and templates. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Staff had received an annual appraisal in the past 12 months.
• 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.
• Patient satisfaction for telephone access to appointments was lower than CCG and national averages.
• The practice had established systems to support carers.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a leadership structure and staff felt supported by management.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Develop a process to keep a summary of the actions arising from primary health care team meetings so staff could keep track of any outstanding actions for example in relation to safeguarding.
• Continue to monitor the recently implemented process to record the presence of a chaperone during a clinical examination.
• Consider obtaining written consent for contraceptive procedures.

• Continue to monitor the measures introduced to improve access to appointments including the effectiveness of the GP walk in consultation pilot which allowed patients urgent consultations with a GP from 4pm each evening without an appointment.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice