Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Care UK – North East Essex on 29 March 2017. The service provides out-of-hours GP services. Overall the service 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 recording, reporting and learning from significant events. Learning from significant events was cascaded nationally throughout the organisation.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Patients’ care needs were assessed and delivered in a timely way according to need. The service met the National Quality Requirements.
• 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.
• The service maintained appropriate standards of cleanliness and hygiene.
• There was a system in place that enabled staff access to patient records, and the out-of-hours staff provided the local GPs and hospital, with information following contact with patients when appropriate.
• The service managed patients’ care and treatment in a timely way.
• 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.
• The service worked proactively with other organisations and providers to develop services that supported alternatives to hospital admission where appropriate and improved the patient experience.
• The service had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. The vehicles used for home visits were clean and well equipped.
• Patient feedback was strong and consistently positive. Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The service proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
• The provider had created an in-house learning mobile app for staff to use on their phones and handheld tablet devices.This had led to a 100% uptake of mandatory training courses for all staff within the organisation.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice