Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Central Park Surgery on 20 July 2017. 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 a system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 the requirements of the duty of candour. Examples we reviewed showed the practice complied with these requirements.

We saw two areas of outstanding practice:

• Practice staff provided support to patients in unique situations out of their core hours. One patient whose child was diagnosed with a life limiting condition told us they were given a mobile number to contact the GP. They told us the support and care offered by the whole practice team was exemplary and gave them comfort and confidence at extremely difficult times.

• Patients were encouraged to attend national screening programmes in innovative ways. In March 2017 the practice raised money for Cancer Research UK by each member of staff completing ten thousand daily steps and promoting this in the practice. This contributed to a 30% increase in cervical screening over a four month period.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Undertake a legionella risk assessment to determine the correct level of legionella control regime required

• Review the use of clinical audit to include full audit cycles and demonstrate continuous quality improvement in patient outcomes.

• Embed new systems relating to significant events and safety alerts

• Revisit the recent infection control audit to document an effective response to the areas identified.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice