Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Grange Medical Centre on 6 October 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• There was a system to report and record significant events. All incidents were investigated and if patients were affected they were offered support.
• Arrangements to deal with emergencies and major incidents were adequate and staff were equipped to follow them.
• The practice had a system for managing and circulating safety alerts received from external agencies.
• Measures had been implemented to safeguard patients from abuse, and these reflected relevant legislation and local requirements. Staff had received training on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults relevant to their role and understood their responsibilities.
• Staff underwent annual appraisal meetings to review professional development and identify learning needs. Staff we spoke with during the inspection told us they had access to appropriate training to cover the range of requirements of their role.
• The practice worked with other services and health and social care professionals to share relevant information and assess and meet the needs of patients. Multidisciplinary care team meetings were held every three months.
• We spoke with ten patients during the inspection. All ten patients said they were treated with dignity and respect. We also received 42 Care Quality Commission patient comment cards. Thirty of these were positive about the service experienced and 12 were mixed.
• Information for patients about the services available was easy to understand and accessible.
• Results from the National GP Patient Survey showed that patients’ satisfaction with how they could access care and treatment was similar to local and national averages. Satisfaction with waiting times was lower than average, and the practice had introduced GP telephone triage to help reduce waiting times for patients attending urgent appointments.
• The practice had an effective system in place for handling complaints and concerns. Information about how to make a complaint was available to patients and learning from complaints was used to develop improvements.
• The premises were adapted for access by patients with different needs such as those with a disability.
• We verified that staff had a good understanding of what their roles required of them and who was responsible for clinical and non-clinical areas within the practice. Staff told us the partners and the practice manager were professional, helpful and approachable.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.
• The practice sought feedback from patients, the public and staff and used this to involve patients in how the service was delivered.
• The practice demonstrated an interest in continuous learning and improvement.

The area where the provider should make improvement is:

• Maintain a record of verbal complaints, comments and suggestions.
• Continue to take action to improve timely access to appointments and reduce waiting times in the practice when patients attend for appointments.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice