Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Purssell and Partners on 3 March 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 well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• 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.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that 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 and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

The practice had developed a successful partnership with a local community trust. This was part of the practice’s strategy to attend existing patient groups outside the practice – to go to the patients. The practice has supported the group financially and practically to offer training to its members to give them the confidence to speak about their experiences of patient care and to be part of helping to improve it. There were plans for the trust to work with practice staff to help them to be aware of the different needs of patients from ethnically diverse backgrounds

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Complete a written policy on safeguarding of vulnerable adults and arrange relevant formal training for all practice staff.
• Consider the completion of practice DBS checks for GPs, rather than relying upon the ‘GP Performers List’ for confirmation of such checks.
• When carrying out regular fire drills, identify in the evacuation reports who participated in the exercise and how long it took.
• Ensure arrangements in hand for the completion of outstanding staff appraisals are concluded by the end of the current reporting year.
• Advertise translation services are available.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice