Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out a comprehensive inspection on 18 March 2015. The practice has registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide primary care services to its local population. This is the report of the findings from our inspection.

We have rated each section of our findings for each key area. The practice provided a safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led service for the population it served. The overall rating was good and this was because the motivated practice staff consistently provided good standards of care for patients.

Our key findings were as follows:

• Practice staff worked together as a team to ensure patients received the standards of care they needed. Practice staff were responsive to suggestions for improvements that lead to improved patient care. There was a clear leadership structure in place. Quality and performance were monitored and improvements made in service delivery.

• There were safe systems in place for ensuring patients received appropriate treatments and prescribed medicines were regularly reviewed to check they were still needed. The practice planned its services to meet the diversity of its patients. Appointments length were need specific. Longer appointments were offered to some patients. For example, patients with a learning disability or multiple health conditions.

• Patients were protected against the unnecessary risks of infections because staff adhered to appropriate hygiene practices and regular checks were carried out.

• The practice was able to demonstrate a good track record for safety. Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, report incidents and near misses. Staff used these opportunities to learn from incidents to support improvements.

• Patients were treated with respect and their privacy was maintained. Patients informed us they were very satisfied with the care they received. The feedback we received from patients was without exception positive. There was a strong patient centred culture and motivated staff provided kind and compassionate care.

• The practice facilitated eight hospital consultants held regular clinics at the practice for a range of specialties for patient’s convenience. For example, gynaecology, memory clinic and dermatology. These sessions were for the practice's own patients only.

We saw several areas of outstanding practice including:

• The practice employed a specialist dementia nurse who visited patients in their own homes. The specialist nurse and a visiting hospital consultant held a monthly dementia clinic at the practice.

• There were systems in place to identify and provide appropriate treatment to patients who had specific mental health needs. This included prompt review and regular and follow up to ensure their condition did not deteriorate. A GP with a specialist interest maintained a register and monitored patients who had been diagnosed with mental health problems. There were 112 patients on the significant mental health register.

• The practice provided a weekly drop-in clinic for sexual health advice. 

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice