Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Priory Fields Partnership on 15 December 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority. The strategy to deliver this vision had been produced with practice staff and was regularly reviewed.

• The practice had strong and visible clinical, managerial leadership and governance arrangements.

• We found that there was an open and transparent approach to safety and a system was in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• The practice demonstrated they valued education for all practice staff and patients. One GP had been awarded a certificate for excellent teaching from the NHS Health Education England.
• The practice used a range of assessments to manage the risks to patients.
• Practice 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.
• Data from the Quality and Outcome framework 2015/ 2016 showed the practice performance was above the CCG and national average. Data showed the practice had significantly higher exception reporting in some indicators when compared to the CCG and National average. However, the practice shared with us a written report detailing the finding from a NHS England investigation. This confirmed the practice did not have high exception reporting but that IT issues were the problem. We reviewed the practice clinical system and we were assured that the practice did not have high exception reporting.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity, and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• 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.

Areas of outstanding;

• The practice recognised they served a population of patients whose first language was Polish and not English. In addition to using translation services, the practice had a GP and staff member who could interpret for them. With the PPG support the practice held a health education for this group of patients, the complete evening was conducted in Polish and 30 patients attended. The practice had invited other health professionals to attend, including a local dentist who provided NHS treatment and Camquit, the smoking cessation service. The practice was proactive in supplying information for patients in both verbal and easy read formats in other languages.

• The practice worked with charities, third sector, and voluntary agencies to maximise benefits for their patients. For example, they collected donations for the local food bank and encouraged patients who would have given food gifts to staff to donate to the food bank instead.

• The partners gave all staff an extra day’s leave for their birthday as an additional way to show they valued their team.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Ensure that the formal and overarching fire risk assessment is reviewed annually and ensure practice staff always complete the record of the fire alarm tests that are undertaken weekly.

• Review the methods used to encourage carers to register ensuring they receive support and care.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice