Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of Whyburn Medical Practice on 26 May 2016.  During that inspection we found that effective recruitment procedures were not followed as not all required information was available on three staff files we checked.

Overall the practice was rated as good with are services safe requiring improvement in view of the above.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Whyburn Medical Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

After the comprehensive inspection, the practice told us what action they had taken to meet the legal requirement in relation to the breach of Regulation 19-Fit and proper persons employed.

We undertook a desk based review on 25 November 2016 to check that the provider had completed the required action, and now met the legal requirement. We did not visit the practice as part of this inspection. This report covers our findings in relation to the requirement.

This inspection found that the provider had taken appropriate action to meet the legal requirement.

• Effective recruitment procedures were followed to ensure the required information was obtained prior to new staff working at the practice, to provide assurances that suitable staff are employed.

• Personal files had been reviewed to ensure the required information was available in respect of staff employed.

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 Whyburn Medical Practice on 26 May 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events. Learning outcomes were shared with staff.
• Some risks to patients were assessed and managed. These included systems to manage health and safety matters such as checking that equipment was working and safe to use and infection control measures.
• Staff recruitment processes and procedures around the collection of prescriptions required strengthening.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Clinical audit drove quality improvement. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment. Patient feedback which included the National GP Patient Survey rated the care provided highly.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. We noted however, that limited information was provided to patients about organisations that could be contacted to obtain independent advice. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns and this was well documented.
• The majority of patient feedback showed convenient appointments were available with a GP although it was noted it was more difficult to see a named GP. Urgent appointments were 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.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

The provider must strengthen their recruitment procedures to ensure staff have had checks to show that they are suitable to work with patients. This information should be recorded.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Ensure a co-ordinated and managed approach is adopted for the distribution of medicines alerts within the practice reflecting actions taken to ensure patient safety.
• Ensure a patient recall process or other procedure is adopted for uncollected prescriptions where higher risk medicines have been prescribed.
• Undertake quality monitoring activity in minor surgical procedures to evidence compliance with recognised standards.
• Include contact details for independent advisory organisations in the practice’s complaints leaflet.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice