Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Whyteleafe Surgery on 12 January 2017. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice good for providing safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led services.

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.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• 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.
• Data showed patient outcomes were high compared to the national average. The practice had carried out some clinical audits. However, not all audits were of full or repeat cycles.
• 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.
• 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.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. However, a hearing induction loop was not available.
• There was an anti-coagulation clinic (an anti-coagulant is a medicine that stops blood from clotting) offered onsite, resulting in 74 patients who required this service not having to travel to local hospitals.
• The practice had worked closely with a health visitor for the homeless. The health visitor had a direct access to lead safeguarding GP and attended regular monthly meetings at the practice. These arrangements had enabled the practice to identify potential safeguarding issues and organise urgent clinical care by offering easy access and registration with the practice.
• The practice had offered weekly well-being clinics at the premises. Patient’s who required social, financial and other non-clinical support were referred to an in-house ‘well-being advisor’, who had access to other services which might benefit these patients. This had resolved patient’s non-clinical issues and also resulted in saving clinical time for GPs because patient’s need were met during consultation with the well-being advisor.
• 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 improvements are:

• Review and establish a system of clinical audit cycles to identify improvement areas and monitor continuous progress effectively.

• Consider installing a hearing induction loop or provide alternative form of communication at the reception.
• Review and monitor the system in place to promote the benefits of smoking cessation.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice