Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr J K Marsden’s Practice on 8 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 dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment. Staff were described as helpful and supportive.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Patients informed us that they were able to get appointments when they needed them but they sometimes had to wait up to two to three weeks to see a GP of choice.
• Urgent appointments were available on the same day.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. They had plans in place to improve access to the building.
• 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 practice was a teaching and training practice and they currently have a post graduate doctor gaining experience in general practice. They provide teaching for medical students and training for nurses undertaking prescribing courses within the locality.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

• The practice provided many areas of support to patients whose circumstances made them vulnerable.These included renaming the waiting areas to make it easier for patients with learning disabilities to identify where they should wait for their appointment. They had developed a number of leaflets in an easy to read format using pictures and simple language to explain various tests and investigations. They had an autistic support group for patients on the autism spectrum to meet twice a year to share ideas and experiences. The meetings were attended by Autism Bedfordshire, a local group who gave advice on support services available. All staff within the practice had received autism awareness training.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Keep documented evidence of infection control audits.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We reviewed the information available to us about Dr JK Marsden's Practice on 23 May 2019. We did not find evidence of significant changes to the quality of service being provided since the last inspection. As a result, we decided not to inspect the surgery at this time. We will continue to monitor this information about this service throughout the year and may inspect the surgery when we see evidence of potential changes.