Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dyneley House Surgery on 28 June 2016. Overall the practice is rated as outstanding.

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 named GP 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 many areas of outstanding practice that impacted on all population groups including people with dementia, people with mental health problems, isolated people and young people.: The practice proactively worked in partnership with the local community and several organisations to support patients’ health and social care needs. For example;

• facilitating a variety of drop-in session for patients who had mental health issues and holding regular dementia and stroke support group sessions for patients and their carers

• educational and peer group support sessions for diabetes,multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.

• facilitating events and being involved in a ‘well-being’ café to engage and support patients who were socially isolated

• GPs gave health related talks at educational sessions in the local community

• provided a young person sexual health and self-care education event at the local college

• provided healthy eating information and advice sessions for young children and staff at the local primary school

• support of homeless and travelling people to access the health care facilities at the practice and being a collection point for Skipton food bank

• There was a proactive well planned approach to ‘self-care’ reaching out to patients of all ages offering focused self-help programmes and information sessions.

• The practice has a health promotion officer to support weight management, alcohol reduction and smoking cessation and could demonstrate this had a positive impact for patients using this service.

• The educational and self-care programmes were a contributory factor in a reduction in emergency hospital admissions for those patients who had a long term condition.The practice could evidence a reduction in hospital emergency admissions and at 17% per 100 patients were the lowest for the local CCG and compared to 21% nationally.

• The practice had also been awarded ‘highly commended’ in the 2015 national self-care awards, in recognition of the work they had undertaken in encouraging patients in the self-management of their condition. They were short-listed in the top five and were the only GP practice to receive the award.

• The practice worked proactively with the patient participation group (PPG), which had a good representation from their community, including patients aged 18 years and under. The PPG were active in the self-care management programme to improve outcomes for patients.

• The practice had invited NHS health checks in 97% of eligible patients, which was the highest figure achieved within all the Craven area practices.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice