Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at John Ryle Medical Practice on 16 August 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 an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events and near misses, and we saw evidence that learning was applied.

• The practice used proactive methods to improve patient outcomes. For example, education courses were offered to patients with long term conditions such as diabetes and working with the local diabetes specialist nurse to improve the wellbeing of patients. There was evidence of improved engagement with patients who have diabetes.

• Feedback from patients about their care was consistently positive. Data from the national GP survey was consistently high and this included confidence in care provided by GPs, where 98% of patients surveyed said they had confidence and trust in the last GP they saw or spoke to.

• There was evidence of planned and co-ordinated patient care with the wider multi-disciplinary team to plan and deliver effective and responsive care to keep vulnerable patients safe.
• The practice actively reviewed complaints to see if there were any recurrent themes, and identified issues where learning could be applied to improve patient experiences in the future.

• The practice had a clear vision which had improving health and wellbeing as its top priority. There was strong and visible clinical and managerial leadership with effective governance arrangements, and staff told us that they were well-supported and felt valued by the management.

However, the areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• The provider should consider providing opportunities for all staff to meet.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice