Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Derby Road Health Centre on 6 July 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 and near misses, and we saw evidence that learning was applied.

• The practice used proactive methods to improve patient outcomes, working with other local providers to share best practice. For example, working with the local diabetes specialist nurse to improve the wellbeing of patients.

• There was easy access to appointments for patients with a range of appointments on offer including telephone consultations. The practice had invested in increasing the number of appointment telephone lines reducing waiting times for patients calling to book appointments or speak to a GP. This was successful and the results from the national patient survey on access were above average.

• The practice demonstrated a caring approach and held a ‘Tender Loving Care’ list for people who needed extra support, in addition to their vulnerable patients register. Patients on this list were offered open appointments and guaranteed to see a healthcare professional if their named GP was not available. Feedback from patients about their care was consistently positive

• The practice responded to the needs of their patients by providing services which were no longer commissioned locally such as a toe nail cutting service for the elderly in need of foot care.

• The practice planned and co-ordinated patient care with the wider multi-disciplinary team to deliver effective and responsive care to keep vulnerable patients safe.
• 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 (PPG).
• The practice actively reviewed complaints to see if there were any recurrent themes, and identified issues where learning could be applied to improve patient experiences in the future.
• The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority. The strategy to deliver this vision was documented and reviewed by the management on a regular basis.

• The practice had strong and visible clinical and managerial leadership and governance arrangements, and staff told us that they were well-supported and felt valued by the partners.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice