Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Tillingham Medical Centre on 10 March 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing safe, effective caring, responsive and well-led services. It was also good for providing services for older people, people with long-term conditions, families and young children, working age people, people whose circumstances made them vulnerable and those suffering from poor mental health.

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. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed, including recruitment checks.
• 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.

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

Importantly the provider should;

• Review their monitoring of medicines to ensure they are not stored beyond their expiry date.

• Improve the recording of checks and actions taken to promote patient safety. This includes meetings regarding safety incidents, cleaning arrangements and environmental checks.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice