Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at the Fulwell Medical Centre on 14 June 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 a highly effective system for reporting and recording significant events. The staff team took the opportunity to learn from all internal and external incidents.

• Risks to patients and staff were assessed and well managed.

• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. They had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment. Action was being taken to address gaps identified in the practice’s staff training plan.

• Outcomes for patients were consistently good. Data from the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) showed that the practice’s performance was above the local clinical commissioning group (CCG) and England averages in most of the indicators covered.

• There was a strong, visible, person-centred culture. Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and that they were involved in decisions about their treatment.

• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.

• Services were tailored to meet the needs of individual patients and were delivered in a way that ensured flexibility, choice and continuity of care. All staff were actively engaged in monitoring and improving quality and patient outcomes. Staff were committed to supporting patients to live healthier lives through a targeted and proactive approach to health promotion.

• The leadership, governance and management of the practice assured the delivery of good quality person-centred care, supported learning, and promoted an open and fair culture.

However, there were also areas where the provider needs to make improvements. The provider should:

• Provide non-clinical staff with regular updates to their basic life support.

• Ensure staff identified in the practice’s training plan complete outstanding mandatory training.

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 the Fulwell Medical Centre on 14 June 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 a highly effective system for reporting and recording significant events. The staff team took the opportunity to learn from all internal and external incidents.

• Risks to patients and staff were assessed and well managed.

• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. They had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment. Action was being taken to address gaps identified in the practice’s staff training plan.

• Outcomes for patients were consistently good. Data from the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) showed that the practice’s performance was above the local clinical commissioning group (CCG) and England averages in most of the indicators covered.

• There was a strong, visible, person-centred culture. Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and that they were involved in decisions about their treatment.

• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.

• Services were tailored to meet the needs of individual patients and were delivered in a way that ensured flexibility, choice and continuity of care. All staff were actively engaged in monitoring and improving quality and patient outcomes. Staff were committed to supporting patients to live healthier lives through a targeted and proactive approach to health promotion.

• The leadership, governance and management of the practice assured the delivery of good quality person-centred care, supported learning, and promoted an open and fair culture.

However, there were also areas where the provider needs to make improvements. The provider should:

• Provide non-clinical staff with regular updates to their basic life support.

• Ensure staff identified in the practice’s training plan complete outstanding mandatory training.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out a responsive visit due to concerns raised from patients and eight negative responses on NHS choices regarding the practice within the last six months. NHS choices is a website which provides information on healthcare in England. On our visit we took with us a specialist GP advisor and a specialist practice manager advisor.

We spent time observing the way the practice worked and spoke with 18 patients on the day of our visit. Comments were mostly positive. These included. “Staff cannot do enough for you”. “Brilliant practice”. “The service isn’t too bad, they are pretty efficient”.

There were some negative comments, mostly about the appointment system.

Three patients said it was sometimes difficult to get through to the practice on the telephone and three others said that you had to wait up to two weeks if you wanted to see a doctor of your choice.

We also sent seven surveys by email to members of the practice’s patient participation group (PPG) and received three responses. A PPG is a group of people registered with the surgery who have an interest in the services provided. Responses were positive, however one patient raised concerns about having difficulty getting through on the telephone. Comments included “The great thing about this practice is their approach to you as a person” and “Efficient, friendly practice.”

We saw that staff were not always receiving the support and development needed by way of appraisal. Although some training appeared to be carried out it was not documented or managed to ensure it was up to date and staff had not received the correct training associated with their role.

The practice had systems in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service provided; this included an adequate complaints system in place.