Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Park Parade Surgery on 24 February 2016. 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 to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• 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.
• The practice had a policy of not deregistering vulnerable patients even if they routinely failed to attend appointments.
• Feedback from patients about their care was consistently and strongly positive. Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• The practice would visit patients in hospices or in hospitals to provide support.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• 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.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.

We saw areas of outstanding practice.

• The GPs provided additional care and support to patients and their families. They regularly visited patients in the hospice or hospital to provide support, even though they were not responsible for providing clinical care.

• The practices had put in place a comprehensive and closely monitored appointments system which gave patients ease of access to appointments. This was supported by patients having rapid access by telephone or email to their GP, with calls or emails being returned quickly. 

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice