Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Key Medical Practice on 3 February 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good. It requires improvement for providing safe services. The Key Medical Practice was formed when two practices merged in October 2015. As such national data used in this report from 2015 is relevant to the Kidlington Health Centre and does not relate to all patients’ care. Where possible we have used more recent data and experiences of patients in this report.

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.
• Most risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Systems to ensure the control of infection and standards of hygiene and cleanliness were not always effective.
• Medicines were managed safely.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• There was a system for monitoring patient care and treatment. Some national data indicators suggested improvements were needed in patient care but the practice had identified where and how to make improvements.
• 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.
• Patients said they could make an appointment with a GP but that the phone system had been difficult to use in recent months. The practice had identified this and implemented measures to improve phone access.
• The practice had facilities 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.
• Governance arrangements were in place for non-clinical aspects of the service.
• Training delivery for staff was in the process of being improved. Staff had the skills they needed to deliver care.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.

The areas where the provider must make improvement are:

• Implement infection control auditing and greater monitoring of hygiene and cleanliness. Implement any infection control guidance not being followed.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• continue to deliver staff training to those members of staff who have not received training in line with the practice’s own programme.
• Implement care plans for mental health patients

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We reviewed the information available to us about The Key Medical Practice on 7 June 2019. We did not find evidence of significant changes to the quality of service being provided since the last inspection. As a result, we decided not to inspect the surgery at this time. We will continue to monitor this information about this service throughout the year and may inspect the surgery when we see evidence of potential changes.