Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. This is the first inspection of this practice since being registered as a location of McKenzie Group Practice.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:

Older People – Good

People with long-term conditions – Good

Families, children and young people – Good

Working age people (including those recently retired and students) – Good

People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good

People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Wynyard Medical Centre on 6 February 2018. The reason for the inspection was 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 was open and transparent, and had systems in place to adhere to the Duty of Candour.

• 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.

• Quality improvement was embedded into the organisation.

• The practice displayed a strong commitment to multidisciplinary working and could evidence how this positively impacted on individual patient care.

• Discussion with staff and feedback from patients showed that staff were highly motivated to deliver care that was respectful, kind and caring.

• The practice organised and delivered their services to meet the needs of their patient population. They were proactive in understanding the needs of the different patient groups.

• The practice demonstrated a clear commitment to developing increased skill mix within all staff teams and there was clear evidence of the up-skilling of staff.

• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice demonstrated a strong commitment to ongoing development and innovative practice for the benefits of their practice population.

• The leadership in the practice drove continuous improvement and staff were accountable for delivering change. There was a clear proactive approach to seeking out and embedding new ways of providing care and treatment.

• The practice had developed effective multi-disciplinary working arrangements for identifying and supporting more complex patients. We saw evidence from minutes of meetings involving among others; Social Services, Cleveland Constabulary, Hartlepool and North Tees NHS Trust. We saw agreed plans were in place for the management of a number of patients with complex needs, which set out agreed parameters and ensured consistency in approach.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• That all nursing staff who administer immunisations and vaccines remain up to date with the required training.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice