Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 26 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. Training was proactively identified for staff as part of staff and service development and we saw that the training attended resulted in changes to practice to improve patient care and outcomes.
• Patients praised the practice highly and said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and that 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.
• The practice had strong and visible clinical and managerial leadership and governance arrangements.
• 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.

There were areas of practice where the provider should make improvements:

• Consider the recruitment of all staff, including locum staff, so that the process includes all the necessary pre-employment checks and records are kept of these.
• Consider the need for comprehensive complaint records to be maintained to support learning and improvement.
• Consider additional nursing hours and clinical meetings for the nursing team.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We spoke with four people who used the service. They told us that staff were always polite and respectful and that their doctor always listened to their concerns and responded sensitively. Comments included: "the staff are friendly", "I needed an urgent appointment and I got one the same day", "I've only been twice but I've seen the same doctor", "I'm very happy here", "the doctor does listen to you and takes time to explain things"

Staff showed an awareness of the cultural and religious values and beliefs of people using the service and how this may affect the care and support they require.

The practice had a prescribing and medication policy available for staff to guide them on the safe use, storage, ordering, returning and dispensing of medicines and prescriptions.

There were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff employed by the practice to meet people's needs.

The provider carried out a satisfaction surveys and regular audits which enabled them to monitor the quality of the service provided.

The premises were secure, clean and well maintained.This meant that people were being cared for in a clean, hygienic environment and were not protected against the risks of unsafe or unsuitable premises.