Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Beechwood Medical Practiceon 15 December 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.
• 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.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments always available the same day.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff worked cohesively as a team and understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management.
• The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted upon.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.

We saw two areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice had well developed and embedded support systems for carers, including younger carers, who were identified by the practice for a carers’ assessment which could take place at the practice or at the patient’s home. The carers were directed to appropriate services and invited to be part of regular meetings at the practice.

• All patients registered with the practice were contacted by the nurse practitioner when they were discharged from hospital, who could arrange for further visits or support as needed. This had impacted on the admission rate of patients as their care was well managed.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Review the protocol for the safe management of medicines in the practice including emergency medicines.

• Ensure staff understand and follow the procedures for the handling and safe storage of prescriptions.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice