Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Sheffield City GP Health Centre on 18/ 

and 25 January 2017. The overall rating for the practice was good with requires improvement for being

the domain of well led. The full comprehensive report on the 18/

and 25 January 2017 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Sheffield City GP Health Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This inspection was an announced focused inspection carried out on 7 November 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulations that we identified in our previous inspection on 18/ 

and 25 January 2017. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also additional improvements made since our last inspection.

Overall the practice is now rated as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

• The provider had reviewed their governance systems and put processes in place to monitor and ensure compliance with the regulations.  For example; performance and information meetings were held quarterly to discuss clinical governance and safeguarding issues.

• The provider had reviewed their initial form and checklist which patients used when booking in or used the telephone interpretation service.  We noted that the form was available in large print and in numerous languages.

• We saw a matrix which identified that the provider had a record of nurses

  advance nurse practitioner

  ’ competencies to assess

  see and treat children.

• The provider had a Duty of Candour policy and we saw written reference to this within their policies.
• We were told that significant event forms were available to all staff however there had not been any reported adult safeguarding concerns since our last inspection.
• We saw evidence of systems and processes which identified that fire safety procedures were being dealt with proactively and were kept under regular review.

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 at Sheffield City GP Health Centre on the 18 and 25 January 2017. Overall, the service is rated as good. Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• The service had a number of policies and procedures to govern activity, and managers told us all staff, including locums, had access to policies and procedures on the providers group intranet. However we found examples where staff had not always followed the guidelines. For example, referring to the local child services team when referring to other agencies such as the police.
• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses with the exception of a significant event form was not always completed when reporting adult safeguarding concerns as per the adult safeguarding policy
• There was a system in place for learning from significant events.
• Some lessons were shared to make sure action was taken to improve safety in the service.
• Risks to patients were assessed and managed, with the exception of those relating to fire safety. A fire risk assessment was completed two days prior to our inspection and action was taken by the provider following the risk assessment to address the issues. However these issues should have been dealt with more proactively and been under regular review.
• Staff assessed needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance.
• Audits and reviews demonstrated quality improvement.
• Patients said staff treated with them with respect.
• Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• The service worked proactively with other organisations and providers to develop services that supported alternatives to hospital admission where appropriate and improved the patient experience.
• There was a leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The service proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.

The areas where the provider must make improvement are:

• The provider must ensure the governance systems and processes are implemented and monitored to ensure compliance with the regulations.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• The provider should review the initial form and checklist patients complete so that it is available in large print and other languages for use when using the telephone interpretation service. The provider should keep a record of nurses’ competencies to see and treat children.

• The provider should have written reference to the Duty of Candour within their policies.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice