Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Red House Surgery on 8 June 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• 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. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• The practice was working collaboratively with another local practice to promote the Living in the Moment Group, which ran from a local community hall. The group offered support and advice to people who found themselves feeling isolated or lonely.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• The practice was involved in supporting patients recovering from cancer treatment once they were discharged from hospital care through a group called ‘Cancer and Beyond’.
• 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.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

We saw two areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice was classed as a POCT (point of care testing) hub practice within the locality, and alongside six other practices was offering patients additional services not normally found within a GP setting. For example, the Red House Surgery was able to offer D-dimer and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) testing for patients. (D-dimer tests are used to rule out the presence of a blood clot).
• A specialist nurse for patients with learning disabilities was available to offer support and conduct health checks. At the time of our inspection there were 56 patients on the learning disability register supported by this nurse.

The area where the provider should make improvement is:

• Continue with efforts to improve the support offered to patients with dementia and actively encourage patients to attend regular reviews.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice