Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection visit on 21 October 2014 and the overall rating for the practice was good. The inspection team found after analysing all of the evidence that the practice was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.

Our key findings were as follows:

• The practice provided good, safe, responsive and effective care for all population groups in the area it serves.
• All areas of the surgery were visibly clean and where issues had been identified relating to infection control, action was being taken.
• Where incidents had been identified relating to safety, staff had been made aware of the outcome and action taken where appropriate, to keep patients and staff safe.
• Patients received care according to professional best practice clinical guidelines. The practice had regular information updates, which informed staff about new guidance to ensure they were up to date with best practice. 
• The service was responsive and ensured patients received accessible, individual care, whilst respecting their needs and wishes.
• The service was well led and there were positive working relationships between staff and other healthcare professionals involved in the delivery of service. 

We saw several areas of outstanding practice these included:

• A care co-ordinator was in post at the practice; the role was to support the most vulnerable patients and their carers to reduce hospital admissions. This was a new innovation.
• A health trainer was in place to support weight management, alcohol reduction and smoking cessation for patients with identified need.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as good overall. The practice had been previously inspected in October 2014 when it was rated good overall and across all key questions.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Requires Improvement

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Practice Harehills Corner on 17 October 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had arrangements 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.
• Patient access to extended hours and weekend appointments had recently improve though partnership and collaborative working with a group of local practices.
• Patient feedback regarding access and involvement in consultations was mixed. The practice actively reviewed patient feedback and had developed actions to seek improvement.
• The practice tailored services to meet the needs of the local population.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
• The practice responded quickly to issues identified on the day of inspection and put in place measures immediately resolve these.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review and improve authorisation processes for Patient Group Directions.
• Continue to review the oversight of fire safety and clinical waste arrangements.
• Review and improve the identification of carers within the practice population.
• Review and improve processes in relation to the recording of vaccine batch numbers, expiry dates and stock usage.
• Continue to review and support the improvement of bowel and breast cancer screening rates.
• Continue to review and improve areas of satisfaction in relation to patient consultations and access to appointments.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGPChief Inspector of General Practice