Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Castlefields Health Centre on 22 September 2016. Overall the practice 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 reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and managed.
• Some areas of safety required review, including access to blank prescription pads left in printers overnight, and processing information in relation to planned safeguarding meetings. GPs did not always provide safeguarding reports for use at safeguarding meetings.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Work with diabetic patients was proactive and nurses were seen to be delivering improved results in the care and management of diabetic patients.
• Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• The practice worked with a number of community providers to deliver services to patients that met their needs, for example, Admiral Nurses who supported dementia patients and their carers.
• 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. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• The practice was responsive and had developed triaging systems to ensure that those patients needing to be seen by a GP on the day, were seen.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• 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.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

The were areas where the provider should make improvements. The provider should:

• Improve access to the practice by telephone.

• Review the current arrangements for security of blank prescription pads;

• Ensure relevant staff understand procedures for production of safeguarding reports for safeguarding boards.

• Review all significant events annually to check for any trends or re-occurence of events and to promote learning.

• Minute practice clinical meetings to circulate content to those unable to attend.

• Share the findings of audits with the full clinical team and more widely to promote learning.

• Review patient specific directions to ensure these are up to date.

• Collate staff training records to ensure staff are up to date with training required for their role.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice