We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Commonwealth Health Centre on 5 February 2019 as part of our inspection programme.

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

• what we found when we inspected
• information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as good overall and good for all population groups.

We found that:

• The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• The practice had signed up to the local QOF initiative to ensure high levels of performance. Unverified QOF data showed the practice had achieved 98% from April 2018 to February 2019.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.
• The practice received 37 positive comment cards regarding the care and treatment they had provided patients.
• There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation. Staff were encouraged to share responsibilities and develop their roles.
• The practice had a dedicated learning disability co-ordinator and team who were passionate and responsive to patient’s needs. They had developed communication aids which were designed to make it easier for patients to understand the information they were being given.
• The practice had employed a paramedic to carry out home visits, who had undertaken phlebotomy training to ensure patients being visited at home had access to effective care.
• Pop-up clinics had been organised by the practice at the local church review patients who would did not usually engage directly with the practice.
• The practice had introduced a workforce co-ordinator and found it had reduced the administrative workload of the GPs.
• The practice had implemented a new multi-modal consultation system. Patients we spoke with on the day of the inspection said they found it easy to make an appointment.
• There were high levels of staff satisfaction. Staff were proud of the organisation as a place to work and spoke highly of the culture. Staff at all levels are actively encouraged to raise concerns via the ‘speak up’ slots.
• There was a clear proactive approach to seeking out and embedding new ways of providing care and treatment. For example, through the implementation of their multi-modal consultations.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Improve the documentation for the monitoring of fridge temperatures.
• Strengthen the completed actions documentation for environmental risk assessments.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice