This practice is rated as good overall. (Previous rating December 2015 – Good)

The key questions at this inspection are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Gower Street Practice on 28 August 2018, as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The care records we saw showed that information needed to deliver safe care and treatment was available to staff.
• The practice acted on and learned from external safety events as well as patient and medicine safety alerts.
• The practice had created a range of computer reports that it ran on a regular basis to ensure that it was up to date with necessary actions for its patient groups.
• Feedback from patients was positive about the way staff treat people.
• One member of staff’s personnel file did not contain all of the information we would normally expect to find, including evidence of a recent appraisal, and training in infection prevention and control and safeguarding training. Following our inspection, the practice provided us with this evidence.
• The practice understood the needs of its population and tailored services in response to those needs.
• Leaders were knowledgeable about issues and priorities relating to the quality and future of services. They understood the challenges and were addressing them.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review and consider placing a second thermometer in the vaccines fridge to improve the reliability of temperature monitoring.
• Continue with work to review its current patient list to ensure greater accuracy in reporting.
• Review how carers are identified and recorded on the patient record system to ensure information, advice and support is made available to all.
• Continue with work to improve uptake of its cervical screening programme.
• Review and work to increase patient uptake rates for childhood immunisations, and its cervical screening programmes.
• Review and continue to address the concerns raised during the national GP patient survey regarding nurses involving patients in decisions, explaining tests and treatments and treating them with care and concern during consultations.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

Please refer to the detailed report and the evidence tables for further information.

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on the 22 October 2015. 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 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.

• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that 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 an active patient participation group, which met regularly with the practice partners and manager.

• 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.

However, there is an area where the provider should make improvement -

• The practice should continue to monitor the uptake rate for cervical screening tests and encourage eligible patients to undergo the tests.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice