Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This announced focused inspection was carried out on 13 July 2017 to confirm that the practice had made improvements to meet the actions falling below a regulatory breach in our previous comprehensive inspection on 25 March 2015. In March 2015 the overall rating for the practice was Good. The full comprehensive report for the March 2015 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Wadebridge and Camel Estuary Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Overall the practice is  rated as Good

Our key findings were as follows:

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and a system in place for reporting and recording significant events. The practice had introduced new systems and processes to ensure that lessons were shared and action was taken to improve safety in the practice.

• The practice had clearly defined and embedded systems to minimise risks to patient safety.

• The practice had an induction programme for all newly appointed staff and locum staff. This covered such topics as safeguarding, infection prevention and control, fire safety, health and safety and confidentiality.

• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. The practice was clean, tidy and hygienic. We found suitable arrangements were in place which ensured the cleanliness of the practice was maintained to a high standard.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Wadebridge and Camel Estuary Practice on Wednesday 25 March 2015.

Overall the practice is rated as good.

We found the practice to be good for providing safe, well led, effective, caring and responsive services. It was also rated good for providing services for the six population groups of older people, people with long-term conditions; mothers, babies, children and young people; the working-age population and those recently retired; people in vulnerable circumstances who may have poor access to primary care

and people experiencing poor mental health

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

There was a track record and a culture of promptly responding to incidents, near misses and complaints and using these events to learn and change systems so that patient care could be improved.

Staff were aware of their responsibilities in regard to consent, safeguarding and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

The practice was clean and tidy and there were infection control procedures in place.

Medicines were generally managed well within the dispensaries and at the practice and there were effective systems in place to deal with emergencies.

The GPs and other clinical staff were knowledgeable about how the decisions they made improved clinical outcomes for patients although patients care plans were not always kept under review.

Most data outcomes for patients were either equal to or above the average locally.

Patients were complimentary about the staff and how their medical conditions were managed.

Practice staff were professional and respectful when providing care and treatment.

The practice planned its services to meet the diversity of its patients. Adjustments were made to meet the needs of the patients and there was an effective appointment system in place which enabled a good access to the service.

There were clear recruitment processes in place. There were robust induction processes in place, although this was not always in place for all locum staff.

The practice had a vision, clear ethos and mission statement which were understood by staff. There was a leadership structure in place and staff felt supported.

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

The Provider should:

• Ensure all locums receive an induction to ensure they are familiar with emergency procedures and local guidelines.
• Have systems in place to make sure personalised care plans are kept under review.
• Consider sharing action and learning following a significant event or complaint with the whole team.
• Ensure the infection control audit is able to identify latest good practice guidelines.
• Adopt systems to ensure the safe storage of prescription stationary and GP’s bags when the GPs are not present in their room.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice