Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Saxonbury House Medical Group on 29 September 2015. 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 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.
• Patients we spoke with and most comment card responses said they found it easy to make an appointment with GP. Four of twenty-nine comment cards indicated there were difficulties with getting appointments. All feedback was positive in respect of 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.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.

There were areas that the provider should make improvements :

The provider should:

• Maintain a record of their regular nurse meetings to demonstrate staff support and assist with future audits.
• Implement and maintain a record to demonstrate that all clinical equipment is cleaned as appropriate.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out this inspection as we had received concerns about medicine management and how the practice handled concerns and complaints. We spoke with two patients during our inspection and a further four patients on the telephone. They had attended the practice on the day of our inspection for an appointment. These patients were randomly selected. We spoke with staff that included; the practice manager, a practice nurse, a receptionist and a GP partner.

All patients told us that they were very happy with the care and treatment they received from the practice. Two of the six patients said they had experienced some issues with prescriptions not being accurate, reflecting changes made following consultations with their GP or a specialist.

We found that the practice had systems in place to record and respond to the concerns and complaints of patients and their representatives.

We found that the systems and practices in place to manage medicines were not always effective and placed patients at risk.