Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Thornton Medical Centre on 31 August 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 been trained to provide them with 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. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.

• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a GP or nurse, and 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 evidence of outstanding practice:

• The practice was forward thinking and proactive, and contributed to a number of local initiatives in conjunction with other agencies and third sector organisations to address the complex needs of those patients with vulnerability factors, such as mental health, alcohol and drug misuse or debt problems. We saw evidence that patient well-being had been improved as a result of these initiatives. For example the practice had obtained funding to contribute to ‘mindfulness resilience skills’ groups which ran from the local children’s centre. We saw evaluation from these groups which indicated that between 85% and 100% attendees described feeling better about themselves, more able to cope and less stressed than before they attended the course.

  However the provider should:

• Review the processes in place for recording and learning from verbal complaints.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice