This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection August 2016 – Good)

The key questions 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 Islip Surgery on 12 June 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear systems to manage risks to patients and staff. When incidents which required learning outcomes did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
• The practice continuously reviewed the needs of its patient population and adapted processes to improve services for its population.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

• The practice promoted, adopted and fully ulitised IT tools which supported patients to access information and consult clinicians without requiring a visit. Approximately 78% of patients used online services such as asking clinicians questions, booking appointments or requesting fit for work certificates. This was of particular benefit to the dispersed nature of the local population and that some patients lived in isolated areas. Between November 2017 and May 2018 there had been 968 instances where patients accessed online services. Data suggested that this avoided patients calling the practice 968 times, and visiting the practice 156 times, including 101 times an appointment would have otherwise been required.

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 Islip Surgery on 15 December 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good, but requires improvement in the safe domain.

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.
• Most risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• The practice dispensed medicines. There were processes for managing medicines and they were mostly safe. However, the means of delivering some medicines to patients in isolated locations was not fully risk assessed and 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 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 must make improvement are:

• Assess and manage the risks involved with the delivery of prescriptions via patients and those in local community locations.

Additionally the provider should:

• Implement temporary patient group or specific directives while awaiting these from the CCG.
• Change the means of disposal of samples in clinical waste.

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 Islip Surgery on 15 December 2015. We found improvements were required in providing safe services. We issued a requirement notice and rated the practice as requires improvement in providing safe services. We undertook a desktop review (a follow up inspection without the need to visit the practice) on 6 July 2016 to check that improvements had been made to the service where required. We found that the improvements had been made and the practice has been rated good in the safe domain. Our key findings were as follows:

• There was a safe process for dispensing medicines via volunteer delivery drivers and via collection at specific locations convenient to patients living in remote areas.
• Patient specific directives were in place where required to ensure the administration of certain medicines undertaken by non-prescribers was authorised appropriately
• There were appropriate means for disposing of medical samples.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice