Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Ngozi Patrick on 13th May 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically we rated the practice as good in providing safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led care for all of the population groups it serves.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.
• Patients confirmed they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were involved in care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. Complaints were addressed in a timely manner and the practice endeavoured to resolve complaints to a satisfactory conclusion.
• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.

However, there were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements;

Importantly the provider should

• ensure that records are available to show when and what training staff had completed so as to monitor the training needs of the staff in general.
• staff who provide chaperone services must be given clear guidance and training on their role and monitored to ensure this is adhered to.
• ensure systems are in place to continually check the professional registration status of GPs and practice nurses each year to make sure they were still deemed fit to practice.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

The provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that patients received. The provider was compliant with this outcome.

During the inspection we spoke with five patients. They told us they understood the care and treatment choices available to them. They said they received sufficient information to make decisions about their care and treatment.

Most of the patients we spoke with were satisfied with their care and treatment. One patient told us, "I’ve been coming here for many years and they’ve always done OK for me." Another patient said, "I think the service I’ve had has been fine." However, one patient told us sometimes they felt the GP could be a bit abrupt.

We found patients were protected from the risk of infection because appropriate guidance had been followed. The systems in place were effective to assess the risk of and prevent, detect and control the spread of infection.

Patients were cared for by staff who were supported to deliver care and treatment safely and to an appropriate standard. Clinical staff had received sufficient training to ensure they continued to meet the professional standards which were a condition of their ability to practice.

The provider did not have an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that patients received. There was insufficient evidence that learning from incidents and investigations took place and appropriate changes were implemented. There was insufficient evidence that the provider took account of complaints and comments to improve the service.

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous rating 2 July 2015 – Good)

The key questions at this inspection are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Ngozi Patrick, known to patients as Harold Street Medical Centre on 27 November 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice improved their processes.
• The practice reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. Patients we spoke with gave overwhelmingly positive feedback about the care they received from all staff at the practice.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
• Staff felt supported, valued and part of a team.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review practice policies to ensure they reflect current practice.
• Improve the clinical audit documentation to ensure actions identified are recorded, actioned and reviewed.

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Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Please refer to the detailed report and the evidence tables for further information.