We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Beech Tree Surgery on 12 December 2018 as part of our inspection programme. We inspected the branch sites at Riccal and Carlton on 17 December 2018.

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

• what we found when we inspected
• information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as good overall and good for all population groups.

We found that:

• The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

• Track blank prescription forms through the practice in accordance with national guidance.
• Review and improve the safety of blinds in the rooms.
• Address time scales for action relating to infection, prevention & control.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out this comprehensive inspection on 9 December 2014.

Overall, we rated this practice as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

• The practice provided a good standard of care, led by current best practice guidelines.
• People told us they were treated with dignity and respect.
• The practice worked well with other providers, especially around end of life care.
• The practice performed well in the management of long term conditions.
• The building was clean, and the risk of infection was kept to a minimum by systems such as the use of disposable sterile instruments.
• The practice offered a variety of pre-booked appointments, ‘sit and wait’ clinics and extended opening hours.

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

The provider should:

• Identify through risk assessment all staff positions which would benefit from safeguarding training and implement this at a level appropriate to the role.
• Ensure clinical audit cycles are completed fully with a date for re-audit and corrective actions, to be able to gauge the effect of changes made.
• Ensure systems are effective to check and identify when emergency medicines and vaccines have reached their expiry date, so that these are disposed of.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice