Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Alastair Ross Medical Practice

on 21 April 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.
• 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 GP or nurse 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:

We saw evidence that lessons were shared and action was taken to improve safety in the practice. However there was no formal system to review if actions taken following significant events had been effective and sustained. The provider should take action to incorporate such a review as part of their quality assurance processes related to significant events.

Although the patient information leaflet identifies how complainants can escalate their complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) if desired this information was not provided in letters sent from the practice to complainants. The provider should take action to ensure this information is provided as an enclosure or addendum to letters to complainants.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice