Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Bucklands End Lane Surgery on 20 July 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Staff 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.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• 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 had mixed views about the appointment system; some said that they had difficulty making an appointment by telephone and others said that they were always able to get an urgent appointment the same day.
• 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.

However there was an area of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

Importantly the provider should:

• Ensure a robust system is in place to monitor the safe use of prescriptions in the practice.
• Document checks of the battery operated equipment used in the premises.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice