We carried out an announced inspection on 07 September 2018 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We planned the inspection to check whether the registered provider was meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations.The inspection was led by two CQC inspectors who were supported by a specialist dental adviser, a specialist GP adviser and a Polish/English speaking interpreter.

We have produced a separate report that contains our findings in relation to the dental services provided at this location. This report focuses on the provision of general practice and gynaecological services.

Corby Private Medical Centre provides mainly dental services. However, it also provides GP services (family medicine) and gynaecology services.

We were told that the majority of patients were from the Polish community and lived in Corby or surrounding border areas such as Kettering and Peterborough. We were informed that some patients had NHS registrations with other practices whilst others did not and had chosen to attend this practice to be seen privately.

The service is located on the first floor of a residential building. Level access is not available for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. However, relevant patients are signposted to other services. The service does not have its own parking facilities, but free public car parking is available near the premises.

The practice has one dental treatment room and one medical treatment room. During the inspection we spoke with a GP (female), two reception staff and both practice managers. We looked at practice policies and procedures, patient feedback and other records about how the service is managed.

On the day of inspection, we collected seven CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with three other patients.

The service is owned by a company and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission as the registered manager. Registered managers have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run. The registered managers at Corby Private Medical Centre are the two practice managers who share the responsibilities between them.

The service is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 8pm, Saturday from 9am to 9pm and Sunday from 10am to 7pm. For patients seeking general medical appointments and gynaecology services, appointments were available once weekly.

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found that this service was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this service was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations

Are services caring?

We found that this service was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this service was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this service was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Our key findings were:

• There were systems in place to keep patients safe and safeguarded from abuse.
• There were systems in place for the management of significant events and incidents. Risks to patients were assessed and managed.
• The premises appeared well maintained. There were systems in place to support infection, prevention and control and for managing the safety of equipment.
• There were arrangements for the safe management of medicines and recruitment of staff. Staff were supported with their learning and development needs and had access to training.
• There was evidence of audits undertaken to ensure the quality of service against policies and procedures.
• Patient information was shared as appropriate with relevant health and care professionals involved in the patients care and treatment and patients were informed.
• Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
• The provider had effective systems for obtaining consent to care and treatment in relation to general practice services provided.
• Feedback from people about the service they received was positive. People who had used the service felt involved in decisions and said they were treated with dignity and respect.
• People who used the service received timely care.
• There was a complaints process in place and available on the provider website.
• There were established governance arrangements and clear leadership to support the running of the service. Minutes of meetings did not demonstrate that meetings were held regularly. Staff told us that they had meetings but were held regularly but not always recorded to enable sharing of information.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Review the practice’s systems for assessing, monitoring and mitigating the various risks arising from the undertaking of the regulated activities. In particular, ensure that risks identified such as those presented by legionella are mitigated effectively.
• Review the appraisal process to ensure all staff undergo appraisals.
• Consider recording all team meetings to facilitate learning for all staff.

We did not speak with any patients during our visit as there were none using the service while we were there.

We found that the service had made a number of improvements.

The dentists spoke English and Polish and were able to explain treatment options in both languages. Notes in patient records were in English and showed assessments were carried out at each visit. Patients were sent letters detailing their treatment options and costs.

The cleaning and decontamination of dirty instruments were being carried out safely and in line with current guidance.

We spoke with two people who were using the service. They were very happy with the care and treatment they received. One said, “I’m quite happy.” The other commented, “Is very nice doctor.”

They told us that they were given verbal information about their treatment. One said, “Everything was explained all right.” They told us they were not given any written information about their treatment, nor were they given a choice of treatments.

Both people we spoke with told us they thought the service was clean. They noticed that the dentists wore disposable gloves and other protective clothing to prevent cross contamination. They said they had been asked to wear protective clothing and glasses during treatment.