Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Rolle Medical Partnership on 22 March 2016. Overall the practice is rated as outstanding.

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

• Services were tailored to meet the needs of individual patients and were delivered in a way to ensure flexibility, choice and continuity of care.
• The leadership, governance and culture at the practice were used to drive and improve the delivery of high quality, patient centred care.
• The practice employed an innovative use of technology to provide services to its patients.
• 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 the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• 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.
• 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.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.

We identified areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice had devised comprehensive electronic templates for patients receiving end of life care, respiratory disorders, diabetes, hypertension and other long term conditions on their computer system, which had been adopted by the clinical commissioning group (CCG) as an example of good practice and shared with other practices in Devon.

• The practice employed a carer support worker on a part time basis. The practice’s computer system alerted GPs if a patient was also a carer. The practice, through involvement of the carer support worker, had identified 5% of the practice list as carers. Written information was available to direct carers to the various avenues of support available to them as well as that provided through speaking with the carers support worker.
• The Patient Participation Group (PPG) were a significant asset to the practice and met regularly. They were instrumental in improving services for patients using the practice, they carried out patient surveys and submitted proposals for improvements to the practice management team which were acted upon.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice