Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr S P Singh and Partners on 5 April 2016. The overall rating for the practice was good. However, the practice was rated as requires improvement for providing safe services.

The full comprehensive report on the 5 April 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Dr S P Singh and Partners on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This inspection was an announced focused inspection carried out on 24 January 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out the improvements required that we identified in our previous inspection on 5 April 2016.

Following this latest inspection the key question in relation to the provision of safe services at this location is now rated as good, the overall rating for the practice remains as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

• The practice had taken a systematic approach to review the findings of the 5 April 2016 inspection, by working both in-house and in conjunction with NHS Wakefield Clinical Commissioning Group. We saw they had developed and implemented actions to rectify all areas that were recognised as requiring improvement.

• The practice had put in place processes to ensure that staff were up to date with their immunity and vaccination status with particular regard to measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox. The practice had also developed a staff screening and immunisation policy and a Hepatitis B policy to underpin this approach and these had both been in place since May 2016.

• Patient Group Directions were in date and properly authorised. Vaccination and immunisation training for nursing staff had taken place in May 2016 and we saw evidence that further update training had been organised for the near future.

• The practice policy in relation to the administration of immunisations at the surgery had been updated in July 2016 and staff could access guidance regarding vaccinations on the practice computer system.

• All vaccines stored in the practice were in date and there was a system in place to ensure that effective stock control and storage conditions were maintained.    

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 S P Singh and Partners on 5 April 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.
• 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.
• 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 employed a community matron whose aim was to ensure that the needs of elderly, housebound and nursing home patients were met. The work of the matron reduced the number of the elderly and/or vulnerable patients requiring secondary or step-up care. As a result of the work of the community matron the practice had made a small but significant reduction in the demands that would have been placed on A&E and secondary care. During 2015/2016 295 housebound and nursing home patients with chronic conditions were treated and reviewed by the community matron. Of these patients 131 suffered from chronic respiratory disease and needed repeat reviews and follow up visits after discharge.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• The practice needed to ensure that all staff were up to date with respect to their immunity and vaccination status and that this was recorded.

• The practice needed to ensure that all Patient Group Directions were in date.

• The practice needed to ensure that all vaccines stored on the premises were within date and to have system in place to assure effective stock rotation.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice