Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Drs N A Kuchhai and Dr B S Saheecha on 3 January 2017. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Staff used an effective system report and investigate significant events and the working culture encouraged openness and honesty to highlight areas for improvement.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed, including through medicines management and safeguarding processes.
• 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.
• There was evidence of multidisciplinary working to meet the complex needs of patients, including vulnerable young people and those who received palliative care.
• Patients provided positive feedback about the caring nature of staff and said they took the time to listen to their concerns. We saw staff treated people with compassion, dignity and respect and involved them in care planning 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 that walked in without an appointment were seen on the same day. The practice operated a policy that no patient would be turned away without being seen.
• 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.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Ensure learning from significant events is embedded in practice processes and staff professional development.
• Implement a structured system that enables staff to track updates and changes to national clinical and best practice guidance.
• Ensure appraisals are consistent and include evidence of on-going professional development.
• Ensure risk assessments are in place for non-clinical staff who do not have a Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We spoke to members of the Patient Reference Group and people visiting the surgery on the day of our inspection. People told us they were happy with the service provided by the doctors at the practice. One person said “the GPs are wonderful and another said “they are very good here and listen to what you have to say.”

People told us that the GPs were approachable and they could ask questions if they needed to. We found that people's care was planned and delivered in a way that met their individual needs and that the practice co-operated with other healthcare professionals and services.

We also found that people were protected from the risk of abuse because the provider had procedures in place for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children and staff we spoke with were aware of these procedures.

People we spoke with on the day told is that they were always able to get an appointment quickly and did not have problems getting an emergency appointment.

We found that people's privacy and dignity was respected in every case.

The provider had effective recruitment procedures in place to ensure only suitable staff were employed at the service. However, information in relation to Disclosure and Barring (DBS) checks was not readily available for us to see.