Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Castle Medical Group on 30 August 2017. 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 report incidents and near misses. All opportunities for learning from internal and external incidents were maximised.
• The practice had clearly defined and embedded systems to minimise risks to patient safety.
• Staff were aware of current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills and knowledge to deliver effective care and treatment.
• The practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a consequence of feedback from patients and from the patient participation group. The practice had been pro-active in implementing changes to improve access via telephone and to appointments to improve patient satisfaction.
• On the whole the results from the national GP patient survey showed patients were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients we spoke with 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 practice had a system for the secure storage and monitoring of blank prescriptions but this did not incorporate logging blank prescriptions received into the practice in order to provide a clear audit trail through the practice. This was amended on the day of our inspection and stock recorded appropriately.

• The practice had arrangements to respond to emergencies and major incidents. On the day of our inspection we found that the oxygen cylinder was too large to be immediately accessible in all circumstances. Following our inspection the practice provided evidence that the cylinder had been replaced with two portable oxygen cylinders.
• The provider was aware of the requirements of the duty of candour.
• The practice had strong and visible clinical and managerial leadership and governance arrangements.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice