Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Thorneloe Lodge Surgery on 15 September 2016. The overall rating for this service is good.

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

• Processes and procedures were in place to keep patients safe. This included a system for reporting and recording significant events, keeping these under review and sharing learning where this occurred.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• The practice was aware of and provided services according to the needs of their patient population. This included transient patients such as students studying at the local university.
• Staff received regular training and skill updates to ensure they had the appropriate skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Regular meetings and discussions were held with staff and multi-disciplinary teams to ensure patients received the best care and treatment in a coordinated way.
• Patients told us they were treated with dignity and respect and that they were fully involved in decisions about their care and treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. Patients told us that they knew how to complain if they needed to.
• The practice had an active Patient Participation Group (PPG). The PPG were proactive in representing patients and assisting the practice in making improvements to the services provided.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff told us they felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from patients, which it acted on.

There was however, an area where the provider should make improvements:

• Continue with action to increase the number of health checks carried out for eligible patients.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice