Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

The Orchard Surgery was previously inspected on 22 January 2015 and was rated as good overall and for safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led services.

At this inspection on 20 March 2018 the practice is rated as good overall.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:

Older People – Good

People with long-term conditions – Good

Families, children and young people – Good

Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good

People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good

People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) – Good

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Due to a GP partner vacancy and maternity leave the practice had had to limit the number of pre-bookable appointments. However, on the day appointments, home visits and phone consultation services were available. Urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs were also provided the same day and patients were able to pre-book appointments on line. We saw that the practice regularly reviewed its appointment system to ensure there was sufficient capacity to meet patient needs.
• There was an active patient participation group in place who told us that they had seen improvements within the practice.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation. The practice worked closely with other services in order to provide and improve care for their patient populations.
• Staff were positive about working in the practice and were involved in planning and decision making.
• Patient survey results were positive and higher than average in a number of areas.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Orchard Surgery on 22 January 2015.

The practice has an overall rating of good.

The Orchard Surgery provides primary medical services to people living in Lancing, Sompting and East Worthing. At the time of our inspection there were approximately 6,900 patients registered at the practice with a team of two GP partners, a salaried GP, a GP Registrar and a team of nurses.

The inspection team spoke with staff and patients and reviewed policies and procedures implemented throughout the practice. The practice understood the needs of the local population and engaged effectively with other services. Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing well-led, effective, caring and responsive services.

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

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• 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 found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that 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.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice