This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection April 2015 – Good)

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

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at West End Medical Centre on 28 June 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

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.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGPChief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of West End Medical Centre on 21 April 2015. We found that the practice was rated as good overall.

Our key findings were as follows:

• The practice is rated as good for safe. Staff understood their responsibilities to raise concerns, and report incidents and near misses. Lessons were learned and communicated widely to support improvement. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed. There were enough staff to keep people safe.

• The practice is rated as good for effective. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance was referenced and used routinely. Patient’s needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered in line with current legislation. This included the promotion of good health. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and further training needs were identified and planned. The practice had an effective appraisal system in place for all staff. Multidisciplinary working was evidenced.

• The practice is rated as good for caring. Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in care and treatment decisions. Accessible information was provided to help patients understand the care available to them. We also saw that staff treated patients with kindness and respect ensuring confidentiality was maintained.

• The practice is rated as good for responsive. The practice reviewed the needs of their local population and engaged with NHS England and the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to secure service improvements where these were identified. Patients reported good access to the practice and the GPs and 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 an accessible complaints system with evidence demonstrating that the practice responded quickly to issues raised.

• The practice is rated as good for well-led. The practice had a clear vision and strategy to deliver this. There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice had a number of policies and procedures to govern activity. There were systems in place to monitor and improve quality and identify risk. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients and this had been acted upon. Staff had received inductions, regular appraisals and attended staff meetings. The practice had a developing patient participation group (PPG).

We saw several areas of outstanding practice including:

• The practice runs a scheme known as the “Difficult Patient Scheme” that includes some vulnerable adults who are given priority appointments due to their complex needs.

• The practice has an over 75’s wellbeing service to support patients with aspects of their daily life.

However there were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements. Importantly the provider should:

• Ensure that staff receive training and development for managing the cold chain process.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice