Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out this comprehensive inspection on 7 October 2014. Oulton Medical Centre provides primary medical services (PMS) to approximately 13,500 patients in the catchment area of Oulton, Woodlesford and surrounding areas. The practice also has a branch surgery at Marsh St, Rothwell, which we did not inspect as part of the process, although we did interview staff working at both sites.

Overall, we rated this practice as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

• The practice provided a good standard of care, led by current best practice guidelines.
• People told us they were treated with dignity and respect.
• The practice worked well with other providers, especially around end of life care and complex conditions.
• The practice had systems and processes in place to ensure the practice provided a safe service.
• The building was clean, and the risk of infection was kept to a minimum by systems such as the use of disposable sterile instruments.
• The practice offered a variety of pre-booked appointments, walk-in clinics and extended opening hours.
• Incidents and complaints were appropriately investigated and responded to, and learning shared across the practice.

However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

The provider should:

• The provider should take measures to ensure that patient records are transferred safely and securely between the two surgeries.

• The provider should monitor the times taken and methods for medicines to be transferred between the two surgeries so they can demonstrate that the cold chain was not interrupted.

• The provider should improve communication with patients accessing the walk in services so patients know how long they may have to wait and can plan accordingly.

• The provider should assess how to improve privacy in the waiting area.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)

Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (A previous inspection undertaken on 7 October 2014 had rated the practice as Good overall.)

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

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Oulton Medical Practice on 15 May 2018, as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear governance policies and protocols, which were accessible to all staff. There were clear systems in place to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
• Patient care and treatment was delivered in line with up to date best practice guidance. There was evidence of quality improvement within the practice. Clinicians knew how to identify and manage patients with severe infections including sepsis.
• There were a range of clinical staff to support delivery of care to their patient population, for example a named advanced nurse practitioner for older people and a GP lead for frailty.
• The practice offered patients a range of access to appointments, such as telephone consultations and extended hours. Patients also had access to Saturday morning appointments with a range of clinicians, such as GP, advanced nurse practitioner and physiotherapist.
• Uptake rates for cancer screening programmes were higher than local and national averages.
• There was a good use of skill mix and the practice were engaged with innovative schemes to support quality patient care and service delivery.
• Patients in the main were positive about the service, care and treatment they received at the practice.
• There was evidence of a cohesive team with a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

We saw an area of outstanding practice:

• There was a good use of skill mix and a comprehensive, co-ordinated approach to support care and treatment provided to those patients who were elderly, frail or had mental health needs.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice