Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at White Lodge Medical Practice on 16 August 2016. Overall the practice is rated as Good.

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

• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• However, systems were not in place to monitor the security of blank prescription forms and there were no systems in place which monitored their usage. .
• 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.
• 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.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:-

• To identify ways in which to improve patient satisfaction scores.
• To ensure that prescription pads usage is monitored and recorded.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

White Lodge Medical Practice is a town-centre based general practice, with approximately 11,600 registered patients at the time of our inspection.

White Lodge Medical Practice is registered to carry on the regulated activities of Maternity and midwifery services, Family planning services, Treatment of disease, disorder or injury, Surgical procedures, and Diagnostic and screening procedures. The site comprises a main GP practice building, and an adjoining facility, Enfield treatment centre, where doctors’ training and tutorials are provided, minor surgeries, phlebotomy by local hospital staff, and counselling services. We visited the practice site as part of our inspection.

The staff team includes ten doctors, four of whom were female, a practice nurse, practice manager, reception and administrative staff teams.

We spoke with patients in the practice during our inspection and also received feedback in our comments box that was made available at the practice for a number of days before and after our inspection. The feedback we received was very positive about the practice, with people commenting favourably about their care and treatment, saying they were listened to and that the practice responded to their needs at the right time. The most recent survey results showed that patient satisfaction with their GP was particularly high. We saw that the practice took comments and complaints seriously, responded to them and made changes.

The practice reviewed its care and treatment arrangements and made changes as a result. Members of staff received appropriate training, and were subject to background checks. The premises were kept secure through daily checks and there were refurbishment plans in progress. Medicines were appropriately managed, and there were arrangements in place to respond to emergencies.

Best practice was promoted through the practice’s policies and procedures and staff meeting discussions. Health outcomes for patients were monitored and the information used to plan their care.

Patient feedback showed that people felt they were well cared for, and treated with dignity and respect.

The practice responded to people’s needs, and supported people to obtain appointments in a timely manner. People with particular needs, such as long term conditions, were supported to have their needs met. Complaints were effectively managed within the practice.

There were clear lines of responsibilities for governance in the practice. Quality and performance was regularly reviewed and monitored. Staff felt valued and supported in the practice, and patient feedback was sought and acted on.

We found good examples of how White Lodge Medical Practice was meeting the needs of each of the population groups we report on. Older people and people who were physically frail received additional support through regular reviews and, if required, had home visits. People with long term conditions were also encouraged to have additional monitoring and reviews, and the practice had good working relationships with other providers such as hospitals and community health teams to ensure people received ongoing care. The practice carried post natal checks for new mothers and child immunisations.

We reviewed the information available to us about White Lodge Medical Practice on 2 July 2019. We did not find evidence of significant changes to the quality of service being provided since the last inspection. As a result, we decided not to inspect the surgery at this time. We will continue to monitor this information about this service throughout the year and may inspect the surgery when we see evidence of potential changes.