Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection November 2014 – Rated Requires improvement overall).

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:

Older People – Good

People with long-term conditions – Good

Families, children and young people – Good

Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good

People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good

People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Westbury Medical Centre on 21 November 2017. As part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.

• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.

• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.

• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Date the policies recently reviewed and note an indicative date for the next review.

• Implement a systematic approach to patient consent in respect of minor surgical procedures.

• Make available to complainants information about the next steps to take following any complaint investigation.

• Consider suitable delegation and document any division of responsibilities and governance processes to enable appropriate continuance.

• Continue to action areas identified for improvement in the infection prevention and control audit.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection November 2014 – Rated Requires improvement overall).

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:

Older People – Good

People with long-term conditions – Good

Families, children and young people – Good

Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good

People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good

People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Westbury Medical Centre on 21 November 2017. As part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.

• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.

• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.

• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Date the policies recently reviewed and note an indicative date for the next review.

• Implement a systematic approach to patient consent in respect of minor surgical procedures.

• Make available to complainants information about the next steps to take following any complaint investigation.

• Consider suitable delegation and document any division of responsibilities and governance processes to enable appropriate continuance.

• Continue to action areas identified for improvement in the infection prevention and control audit.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We spoke with six patients during our inspection. All of them were generally pleased with the service they received from the surgery. One patient told us, “You can’t say anything bad about the place”. Another patient said, “The doctors are always good here”. Two patients told us that it was sometimes difficult to make an appointment with the particular doctor they wanted to see.

We saw that the provider had procedures in place to help protect patients’ privacy and dignity. The staff we spoke with were familiar with the procedures. None of the patients we spoke with had any concerns in this area.

We found that care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that met patients’ needs and protected their rights. Patients were involved in decisions about their treatment.

Patients received their treatment in a clean, hygienic environment. The provider had suitable arrangements in place to ensure patients were not placed at risk of cross infection. However we did find some out of date equipment and dressings stored in a treatment room.

We saw that the provider carried out a range of audits on a regular basis to monitor the quality of its own performance and to learn from any mistakes made. The provider had a small but effective patient participation group.