Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Southowram Surgery on 9 May 2017. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and a system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• The practice had clearly defined and embedded systems to minimise risks to patient safety.
• Staff were aware of current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills and knowledge to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Results from the national GP patient survey were consistently high, and showed patients were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patient satisfaction with regards to access to appointments was consistently high. One of the GPs had led on a CCG practice access incentive scheme which aimed to improve patient access to appointments in line with Royal College of General Practitioner (RCGP) guidelines.
• The practice demonstrated they had increased uptake of bowel screening by 12% in 2016 by sending a personal letter signed by their named GP to patients to encourage uptake of this service.
• 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 the GP partners and practice manager. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
• The provider was aware of the requirements of the duty of candour. Examples we reviewed showed the practice complied with these requirements.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Update practice policies in a timely way.

• Consider reviewing staff immunity to Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) in line with Public Health England guidelines.

• Regularly review and update risk assessments in relation to emergency medicines held on site.

• Include Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman details when replying to patient complaints.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We reviewed the information available to us about Southowram Surgery on 12 April 2019. We did not find evidence of significant changes to the quality of service being provided since the last inspection. As a result, we decided not to inspect the surgery at this time. We will continue to monitor this information about this service throughout the year and may inspect the surgery when we see evidence of potential changes.