Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Spinney Hill Medical Practice on 27 November 2014. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing well-led, effective, caring and responsive services. It was also good for providing services for older people, people with long term conditions, families, children and young people, working age people (including those recently retired and students), people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable and people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

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.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Patients said 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.

However there were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

Importantly the provider should;

• Provide complaints information in languages other than English.
• Consider training for non-clinical and administration staff to encourage and enable them to report significant events.
• Ensure that written records are maintained of mutli-disciplinary meetings.
• Develop a system for the chronic disease management of the housebound and those living in care/nursing homes.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice