Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Wrafton House Surgery on 3 February 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.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance.
• 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.
• Some patients expressed difficulty in getting through to the surgery to secure an appointment with a GP.
• 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:

• Complete the investigation into cancer mortality rates; reported higher than CCG and national average, in conjunction with the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and other appropriate local health partners and undertake any improvement work if needed.

• Continue to monitor the effectiveness of the recent actions taken to improve patient satisfaction in relation to access to care and treatment and make further adjustments as needed

• Take note of the comments on the NHS Choices website and take action as appropriate

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an inspection of Wrafton House Surgery and the branch practice, 2 Northdown Road, on the same day. This report provides information for both the main and branch practices.

Feedback from the majority of patients was positive. One patient told us, “It’s excellent care and I wouldn’t change anything.”

One staff member told us, “The patients come first and we’ll do anything to make their journey better.”

The lead GP was able to clearly describe the care and treatment process for patients and the service had a systematic approach to reviewing and recording patients’ care requirements.

We saw that consultation, minor surgery treatment rooms and waiting rooms for patients were clean.

We spoke with five staff members and they all confirmed they felt supported by the practice manager and GPs at the practice.

We also noted that the practice encouraged staff to advance their professional roles by supporting staff with their continued professional development and training.

One patient told us, “The practice listens and responds. If there’s a problem the relevant person resolves the issue.”

We saw that audits were completed regularly and significant events were discussed with staff to share learning and best practice.

We saw minutes of practice meetings which showed that regular multi-disciplinary team discussions were held. One staff member said, “It’s a very caring practice and well run.”