Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Woodlands Family Medical Centre 24 November 2015. 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.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had 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.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• The patients said they were able to make an appointment with a named GP and that 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.
• 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. This means providers must be open and transparent with service users about their care and treatment, including when it goes wrong.

We saw area of outstanding practice:

• The practice offered minor surgery which was delivered by a trained nurse practitioner who had undertaken further training to deliver this service.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Ensure recruitment arrangements include all necessary employment checks for all staff.

• Ensure patient privacy is maintained in the minor surgical and consulting rooms.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous rating 24 November 2015 – Good)

The key questions at this inspection are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Woodlands Family Medical Centre on 18 and 24 October 2018 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.
• There were mixed views about access to appointments and patients reported that they were not always able to access care when they needed it.
• There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Take steps to improve the identification of carers.
• Continue to make the improvements needed to the telephone system.
• Continue to review and improve access to appointments for patients at the practice.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

Please refer to the detailed report and the evidence tables for further information.