Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Wheatfield Surgery on 16 February 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 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.
• 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.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

• The practice identified patients who were also carers and placed an alert on the electronic patient record. A member of the reception team was the carers’ lead. There was a carers’ corner in the waiting area where written information was available to direct carers to the various avenues of support available to them. This area was surrounded by a partition which provided privacy for patients if they needed to access the information or complete any forms.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice