This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection 5 November 2014 – Good)

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 Balsall Common and Meriden Group Practice on 20 February 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. We saw that when incidents did happen, the practice discussed these at clinical meetings and learned from them and improved their processes as a result.
• 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, respect and in a timely manner. The National GP Patient survey results reflected this.

• In addition comment cards we received reported high levels of satisfaction with the services at the practice and patients we spoke with were also provided positive feedback.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it. However we did receive feedback that it was sometimes difficult to get through to the practice on the telephone and survey results reflected this.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation. This is a training practice and the GP registrars (a GP Registrar is a qualified doctor who is training to become a GP through a period of working and training in a practice) we spoke with felt well supported.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Continue to monitor patient satisfaction rates in particular in relation to access to the service.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We inspected Balsall Common Health Centre, 1 Ashley Drive, Balsall Common, CV7 7RW on 5 November 2014 as part of a comprehensive inspection. The practice is part of a group practice known as Balsall Common and Meriden Group Practice. There is a branch surgery which is Meriden Surgery based at Old School House, 200 Main Road, Meriden, Coventry, West Midlands CV7 7NG. This inspection focused on Balsall Common Health Centre.

We found that the practice was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. We rated the practice as good overall.

Our key findings were as follows:

• There were systems in place to ensure patients received a safe service.

• There was evidence of completed audit cycles undertaken to ensure patients care and treatment was effective and achieved positive outcomes.

• Patients were complimentary about the staff at the practice and said they were caring, listened and gave them sufficient time to discuss their concerns.

• The practice was responsive to the needs of the practice population. There were services aimed at specific patient groups including those with long term conditions.

• There was strong and visible leadership with roles and responsibilities clearly defined. The governance framework ensured clear accountability and was well- led.

However, there were also areas of practice where the provider should make improvements.

The provider should:

• Ensure members of staff who undertake a formal chaperone role undergo training so that they develop the competencies required for the role.

• Improve accessibility to appointments for patients through a review of practice opening times and more innovative management of patients who do not attend their appointment.
• The practice should review the recruitment policy and procedure to ensure that it provides consistent and robust guidance for practice staff when appointing new recruits.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice