Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this practice on 1 February 2016. Breaches of Regulatory requirements were found during that inspection within the safe domain. After the comprehensive inspection, the practice sent us an action plan detailing what they would do to meet the regulatory responsibilities in relation to the following:

• Ensure that systems for the management and security of medicines are robust and safe:

• Ensure the actions taken as a result of the infection control audit are documented.

• Ensure that they have a record of hand written and computerised prescription serial numbers to monitor their use. This must be maintained and kept up to date.

• Maintain a record of equipment and room cleaning to assist with maintaining the cleanliness of the environment and informing future audits.

We undertook this focused inspection on 7 December 2016 to check that the provider had followed their action plan and to confirm that they now met regulatory requirements.

This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Ouse Valley Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This report should be read in conjunction with the last report published in August 2016.

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

• We saw evidence to confirm that the practice had ensured all medicines were stored securely.
• Fridge temperature records demonstrated regular monitoring of medicine fridges at the main practice and branch surgery
• We saw evidence to demonstrate that the practice had a system for monitoring both hand written and computer generated prescriptions.
• Systems were in place to check and ensure all prescriptions were authorised prior to dispensing.
• The infection control audit had been updated and the action plan completed. Systems were in place to demonstrate room and equipment cleaning took place to maintain the cleanliness of the practice and reduce the risk of infection.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this practice on 1 February 2016. Breaches of Regulatory requirements were found during that inspection within the safe domain. After the comprehensive inspection, the practice sent us an action plan detailing what they would do to meet the regulatory responsibilities in relation to the following:

• Ensure that systems for the management and security of medicines are robust and safe:

• Ensure the actions taken as a result of the infection control audit are documented.

• Ensure that they have a record of hand written and computerised prescription serial numbers to monitor their use. This must be maintained and kept up to date.

• Maintain a record of equipment and room cleaning to assist with maintaining the cleanliness of the environment and informing future audits.

We undertook this focused inspection on 7 December 2016 to check that the provider had followed their action plan and to confirm that they now met regulatory requirements.

This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Ouse Valley Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This report should be read in conjunction with the last report published in August 2016.

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

• We saw evidence to confirm that the practice had ensured all medicines were stored securely.
• Fridge temperature records demonstrated regular monitoring of medicine fridges at the main practice and branch surgery
• We saw evidence to demonstrate that the practice had a system for monitoring both hand written and computer generated prescriptions.
• Systems were in place to check and ensure all prescriptions were authorised prior to dispensing.
• The infection control audit had been updated and the action plan completed. Systems were in place to demonstrate room and equipment cleaning took place to maintain the cleanliness of the practice and reduce the risk of infection.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

This inspection visit was undertaken by two compliance inspectors. The practice had a satellite surgery at Balcombe, three miles away, where patients were also seen. All administration, including appointments, were managed from the Handcross surgery. We were not able to visit the Balcombe surgery on the day of the inspection.

We spoke with nine adult patients and one child on the day of the inspection visit. We also spoke with two of the GPs, the practice manager, a doctor in training, the nurse practitioner, a practice nurse, health care assistant, data administrator and three dispensers.

Patients told us that they felt well informed and involved in making decisions about their care and treatment. They said that all staff were approachable. Confidentiality was protected. Patients were happy with the care and treatment they received and valued the local services provided.

We looked at how medicines were managed at the practice. We found that there were systems and processes in place to ensure safe medicine management.

Staff told us that they had training and development opportunities and that they were well supported by the provider. They felt well qualified for their roles and responsibilities.

We found processes in place to review and monitor the quality of the service provided. Patient surveys were conducted with the results analysed. There was learning from the processes and the information was used to improve the service.