Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This is the report from our inspection of Kenneth MacRae Medical Centre. The Kenneth MacRae Medical Centre is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide primary care services.

We undertook a planned, comprehensive inspection on the 5 March 2015 at Kenneth MacRae Medical Centre. We reviewed information we held about the services and spoke with patients, GPs, and staff.

Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

• There were systems in place to mitigate safety risks including analysing significant events and safeguarding. The premises were clean and tidy. Systems were in place to ensure medication including vaccines were appropriately stored and in date.

• Patients had their needs assessed in line with current guidance and the practice had a holistic approach to patient care. The practice promoted health education to empower patients to live healthier lives.

• Feedback from patients and observations throughout our inspection highlighted the staff were kind, caring and helpful.

• The practice was responsive and acted on patient complaints and feedback.

• The staff worked well together as a team.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection 5 March 2015 – 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

As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:

Older People – Good

People with long-term conditions – Good

Families, children and young people – Good

Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good

People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good

People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Kenneth MacRae Medical Centre Limited on 23 January 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents.

• Significant events had been investigated and action had been taken as a result of the learning from events.

• Systems were in place to deal with medical emergencies and staff were trained in basic life support.

• There were systems in place to reduce risks to patient safety. For example, infection control practices were carried out appropriately and there were regular checks on the environment and on equipment used.

• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance and the provider routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care provided.

• Data showed that outcomes for patients at this practice were similar to outcomes for patients locally and nationally.

• Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.

• Feedback from patients about the care and treatment they received from clinicians was very positive. Patients told us they were treated with dignity and respect and they were involved in decisions about their care and treatment.

• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment and there was good continuity of care. The appointments system was flexible to accommodate the needs of patients.

• The practice had good facilities, including disabled access. It was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.

• There was a clear leadership and staff structure and staff understood their roles and responsibilities.

• The staff team had a clear vision to provide a safe and good quality service.

• Patient views were sought and acted upon. This included the practice having and consulting with a patient participation group (PPG).

• There was a focus on learning and improvement at all levels.

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

• The GPs provided a high standard of care to palliative patients. This included providing out of hours visits to patients who were nearing the end of their life to ensure continuity of care.

• The GPs liaised with secondary care upon the admission of patients to hospital and they regularly and proactively visited patients for whom there were continued health concerns following  discharge.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review the arrangements for storing and checking medicines held for responding to a medical emergency.

• Introduce a system to readily identify carers to ensure they are offered appropriate support.

• Review the information provided about how to make a complaint and the various stages of this.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice