Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at John Tasker House on 02 April 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing well-led, safe, effective, caring and responsive services. It was also good for providing services for the older people, people with long term conditions, families, children and young people, working age people (including those recently retired and students), people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable and people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• Staff knew how to report significant events and we found that action had been taken in response to safety alerts. Actions were also taken following investigations into significant events, although these were not always reviewed to assess their impact.
• The practice worked with other agencies to help ensure the care and support provided to vulnerable children and adults was coordinated and effective.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. The practice had taken action to improve performance in areas such as the care of patients with diabetes, including through staff training.
• Staff were aware of how to support patients whose capacity to understand and make decisions may be limited, for example for patients who had dementia.
• 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. Complaints were dealt with appropriately and in a timely manner.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted upon.

However there were areas of practice where the provider should make improvements.

Importantly the provider should:

• Introduce a system whereby changes made as a result of investigations are reviewed to determine their effectiveness.
• Review the arrangements in the dispensary to ensure medicines prescribed are dispensed promptly to patients.

• Take steps to improve the take up of annual health checks of people with a learning disability.
• Ensure all clinical audits are completed audits.
• Record minutes of all meetings that are held including both the nurses and clinical meetings.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We found the staff at John Tasker House to be courteous and welcoming to people during our inspection on 30 December 2013. There was a selection of information in the waiting rooms for the benefit of the people who used the surgeries at both Dunmow and Felsted. The information included notices about John Tasker House services, health promotion and other support services.

We received positive comments from six people on the day of inspection. One person told us: "This is a really good GP practice. Since they changed the appointment system I can always get an appointment and don’t have to wait."

We saw that staff spoke politely to people and consultations were carried out in private treatment rooms.

The doctors we spoke with told us they involved people in their care. One told us, "We try to listen to people and ask questions only once we've heard what people have to tell us."

John Tasker House had appropriate arrangements in place to protect people against the risks associated with prescribing, handling and dispensing medicines.

We spoke to five members of staff about the support they received and saw records of appraisals, regular training, and development.

We saw that the surgery had a records storage system and people's records were stored appropriately and securely.