Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Grove Medical Centre on 29 July 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting, recording and investigating significant events.

• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.

• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance; however the practice was an outlier for exception reporting for several indicators in relation to the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF).
• 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 a strong focus on continuous improvement at all levels. There were high levels of staff satisfaction and staff felt supported by the practice’s leaders. 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 some areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice engaged with the local community through being a member of South London Citizens (SLC), an organisation that organises communities to act together for social justice and the common good. Their work with SLC included successfully approaching Lewisham council with to repair faulty street lighting in order to improve security in the local area, and being accredited as a ‘City Safe Haven’ where they could keep people who were fleeing threatening situations safe until the police or other appropriate support arrived. In addition, staff had received in-house training to enable them to identify female patients who may be at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation, and to understand the legal implications of this practice and their responsibilities in reporting such cases to the appropriate bodies. The lead GP visited multi-faith communities in the locality to raise awareness of the legal, moral and psychological implications of this practice.

There is one area in which the practice should make improvements:

• Whilst acknowledging the practice’s high patient turnover rate, the practice should put into plan actions to address the high levels of exception reporting.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice