Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at St John's Medical Centre on 21 September 2016. 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 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 been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Data from the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) showed patient outcomes were comparable to local and national average for most indicators. The practice was aware of the areas for development and had plans in place to achieve this.
• 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. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and 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.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Consider reviewing complaints periodically to identify trends and facilitate learning. .
• Review the procedure for maintaining staff files to ensure that they are complete.
• Continue to improve care for patients with long term conditions, particularly patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder, and to reduce rates of patients excepted from Quality and Outcomes Framework indicators.
• Consider ways to reduce waiting times for patients.
• Consider developing a wider programme of audit, to improve services and outcomes for patients.
• Review the new system for checking urgent referrals, to check that it is working as anticipated.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice