Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Merepark Medical Centre on 8 November 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.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance.
• Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.

• Infection control procedures were in place.

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.

• Staff had been trained to deal with medical emergencies and emergency medicines and equipment were available.

• 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 approach to working with others to improve care outcomes with a clear strategy and objectives including engaging with other key partners in providing health services.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff were well supported by the GP partners.

• Staff were supervised, felt involved and worked as a team.

• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

• The practice had conducted repeated patient surveys facilitated by the patient participation group (PPG) to continually review the service it provided. This had resulted in the establishment of “open” surgeries carried out daily between 9am and 12pm, the re-introduction of cryotherapy clinics and the extension of appointment times from 10 to 12 minutes.

There were areas of practice where the provider should make improvements, these were:

• Review the management of equipment checks to make it clear that all clinical and electrical equipment is appropriately marked and recorded.

• Review how the results of investigations conducted following safety alerts are recorded.

• Ensure practice polices are reviewed in a timely manner and review the need for a lone worker policy.

• Review the location of the emergency drugs cupboard and the procedure for checking medicines and equipment contained within it.

• Review the recruitment policy/procedure to ensure medical fitness declarations are included when recruiting new staff.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice