Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Batley Health Centre Surgery on 30 August 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. Staff had been trained to provide them with 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. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and 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.
• The partners and practice manager liaised with the neighbouring GP practice with whom they shared the branch practice. We saw evidence of discussions related to planning and sharing the cost of improvements to the premises.
• 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 partners and practice manager had strong involvement with the CCG and other GP practices through membership of Curo (which is a federation of GP practices in North Kirklees), the local GP cluster group, practice management forums and attendance at peer review and CCG organised events.
• The practice had invested in the employment and training of new staff and additional training of existing staff members as part of succession planning as some staff members were approaching retirement age.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Review and improve significant event reporting to include events that are dealt with successfully and minor administrative errors.
• Improve the labelling of clinical waste bags in line with current legislation and guidance.​

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice