Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
This practice is rated as Good overall. The practice was previously inspected on 23 July 2015 and rated as Good overall.
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
As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:
Older People – Good
People with long-term conditions – Good
Families, children and young people – Good
Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good
People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good
People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at North Kensington Medical Centre on 23 November 2017 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. The inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
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 had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles.
- Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. The annual GP patient survey was above average for its satisfaction scores on consultations with GPs.
- Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
- There was a leadership structure and staff felt supported by the management team and GP partners.
- There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
- Consider the infection control lead undertaking enhanced training to support them in this extended role.
- Maintain up-to-date records relating to facilities management undertaken by NHS Property Services (NHSPS), specifically remedial work identified from risk assessments, to satisfy the practice that all areas managed by NHSPS are compliant.
- Review the NICE Guidelines NG51: Sepsis Recognition, Diagnosis and Early Management to ensure the practice can appropriately assess all patients, including children, with suspected sepsis.
- Consider the guidance of Public Health England’s ordering, storing and handling vaccines (March 2014).
- Consider how patients with a hearing impairment would access the service.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice