Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Patrick Lai Chung Fong (also known as Gloucester Road Surgery) on 4 May 2016. The overall rating for the practice was Requires Improvement. The full comprehensive report on the May 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Dr Patrick Lai Chung Fong on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

At our previous inspection in May 2016, we rated the practice as Requires Improvement for providing safe, responsive and well-led services. At this time included amongst the issues we identified was not all staff at the practice had received basic life support and other important training, that there were no systems in place to support the regular monitoring of policies and procedures to ensure they were in date. In addition, the practice had not risk assessed having a Mercury thermometer/sphygmomanometer and what they would do in the event of spillage of Mercury at the practice.

This inspection was an announced focused inspection carried out on 7 June 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulations that we identified in our previous inspection on 4 May 2016. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also additional improvements made since our last inspection. At this inspection, we found that the practice had made improvements to provide safe, responsive and well-led services. As a result of these findings, the practice is now rated as Good for providing safe, responsive and well-led services.

The change in the ratings for safe, responsive and well-led, means that the practice is now rated as Good overall.

Our key findings were as follows:

• All practice staff had undertaken basic life support training within the last 12 months.
• Risks to patients were assessed and managed.
• A system had been put in place to ensure practice policies and procedures were reviewed regularly. All of the policies and procedures we checked had been reviewed within the last 12 months.
• The practice had recently devised a practice business development strategy, which looked at long-term goals and practice achievement.
• Prescription pads held at the practice were securely stored and usage is monitored.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Patrick Lai Chung Fong (also known as Gloucester Road Surgery) on 4 May 2016. Overall the practice is rated as Requires Improvement.

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

• The majority of patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect.
• Some but not all risks to patients were assessed and managed.
• The practice had good facilities and was equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• The practice had a number of policies and procedures to govern activity, but some were overdue a thorough review.
• There was no strategy in place which looked at long-term goals and their achievement by the practice.
• Patients said that they were treated with compassions, dignity and respect and that they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

• To arrange mandatory training for members of staff who have not previously attended including but not exclusive to basic life support and information governance.
• Establish effective systems to review and update procedures and guidance, with a view to ensuring that information reflect the current requirements of the practice.

In addition the provider should:

• Explore options that would allow patients to book appointments and request repeat prescriptions online.
• Examine the possibility of extended hours surgery to give the option to working patients of an early morning or late afternoon/early evening appointments.
• Review how patients with caring responsibilities are identified and recorded on the clinical system to ensure information, advice and support is available to them.
• To establish systems to ensure usage of prescription pads is monitored and logged.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We spoke with five patients during our visit. All patients were very satisfied with the service they received from their GP. Patients understood the care and treatment choices available to them and felt they were given appropriate information and support regarding their care or treatment. A patient told us “the GP explains everything to me. I have diabetes, he sends me to the hospital and looks after me very well.”

Patients confirmed that they were treated with dignity and respect. Patients were protected from the risk of abuse, because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening. Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure patient’s safety and welfare. All five patients spoken with confirmed that they were always able to see their GP when they needed to.

Patients were protected against the risk of infection and measures to prevent the spread of infection were in place. Patients commented positively about the surgery’s premises. The surgery had undergone a number of changes to upgrade the premises so that it met current standards.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of service provided and patients were asked for their views about their care and treatment. The arrangements for obtaining repeat prescription of medications were effective and patients were happy with this service. Patients confirmed that the GP reviewed their medication.