Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Kingsway Surgery on 5 October 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. However reporting was not always consistent and there was no system in place to disseminate learning from complaints and incidents to all staff.
• The practice was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• 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.
• 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 improvements are:

• Ensure there are consistent processes for reporting, recording, acting on and monitoring significant events, incidents and near misses.

• Take action to address identified concerns with safeguarding.

• Implement formal governance arrangements including systems for assessing and monitoring risks and the quality of the service provision.

• Provide staff with appropriate policies and guidance to carry out their roles in a safe and effective manner which are reflective of the requirements of the practice.

• Ensure blank prescriptions are handled in line with national guidance.

• Ensure incoming results are dealt with in a timely way.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice