We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 8 March 2018 to ask the service the following key questions; are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found that this service was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this service was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this service was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this service was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this service was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the practice was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

The service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of the provision of advice or treatment by, or under the supervision of, a medical practitioner, including the prescribing of medicines. The Private GP Clinic is registered as an independent doctors consulting service to provide consultations, diagnosis and treatment in primary care. These services are provided by medical practitioners and registered nurses who are employed by the practice.

The practice also offers physiotherapy, counselling and nutritional advice, provided by self-employed practitioners who are not employed by the provider. These treatments are exempt by law from CQC regulation. Therefore, we were only able to inspect the treatment provided under the supervision of a medical practitioner and not the other therapy services.

The lead medical practitioner is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

We asked for patients to complete CQC comment cards prior to the inspection. All of the 42 patient comment cards we received were positive about the service experienced. Of those, 14 specifically mentioned the treatment provided by the doctor and 12, the polite and helpful attitude of staff in reception. We also spoke with five patients at the time of the inspection. All five said they were happy with their care and would recommend the provider to friends and family.

Our key findings were:

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety with a systematic approach for reporting and recording significant events.

• Staff we spoke with demonstrated an understanding of their responsibilities regarding safeguarding. All clinical and non-clinical staff were trained to an appropriate level in safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

• There was equipment and emergency medicines on the premises to deal with medical emergencies.

• Patients’ notes were comprehensive. The provider ordered timely and appropriate investigations which they followed up. Referral letters were detailed. Advice to patients was clear.

• Some reviews of the quality of care were carried out. Infection prevention and control was audited, and there had been an audit of consent to childhood immunisations. However, the programme of clinical audits was not comprehensive.

• Staff told us the provider was approachable and always took the time to listen to members of staff.

• There was a policy for dealing with complaints and verbal complaints were dealt with effectively. No written complaints had been received.

• There was an overarching governance structure. Risks were well managed and policies were up to date.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Review the practice’s clinical audits and ensure that a comprehensive programme of clinical audits is implemented to drive improvements in patient outcomes.