Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Lister House Surgery on 24 June 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing safe, well-led, effective, caring and responsive services. It was also good for providing services for older people, people with long term conditions, families with young children, working age people, those whose circumstances make them vulnerable and those suffering with mental health problems.

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

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• Care plans were used for patients with long term conditions and those with poor mental health.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• The practice had responded to feedback from patients when planning its services.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• 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.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

• Lister House had been accredited as a Purple Star practice in May 2015 and was the first practice to receive this. Purple Star was a local initiative hosted by Hertfordshire county council that promoted health equality for people with learning disabilities.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice