The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Penntorr Health

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Trevol Business Park, Trevol Road, Torpoint, Cornwall, PL11 2TB (01752) 813277

Provided and run by:
The Rame Group Practice

Important: This service was previously registered at a different address - see old profile

All Inspections

25 August 2021

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced inspection at Penntorr Health on 25 August 2021. Overall, the practice is rated as Good.

Set out the ratings for each key question

Safe - Good

Effective - Good

Caring - Good

Responsive - Good

Well-led - Good

Following our previous inspection on 6 November 2019 the practice was rated Requires Improvement overall with Safe, Effective and Well-Led rated requires improvement and responsive and caring rated as good.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Penntorr Health on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

This inspection was a focused inspection to follow up on breaches identified in the inspection in November 2019.

How we carried out the inspection

Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.

This included

  • Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing
  • Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system and discussing findings with the provider
  • Requesting evidence from the provider
  • A short site visit
  • Staff Questionnaires.

Our findings

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

  • what we found when we inspected
  • information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as Good overall and good for all population groups

We found that:

  • There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system for reporting and recording significant events and learning from these was discussed and shared at practice meetings.
  • 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.
  • 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 practice adjusted how it delivered services to meet the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
  • The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

  • Review and monitor cervical screening uptake rates and continue to encourage eligible women to attend for screening.

  • Review processes to improve uptake for childhood immunisations.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care

06/11/2019

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out an inspection of Penntorr Health on 6 November 2019 following our annual review of the information available to us, including information provided by the practice. Our review indicated that there may have been a significant change to the quality of care provided since the last inspection.

This inspection focused on the following key questions:

  • Safe - Good
  • Effective - Requires Improvement
  • Well-led - Requires Improvement

Because of the assurance received from our review of information we carried forward the ratings for the following key questions:

  • Caring – Good
  • Responsive – Good

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

  • what we found when we inspected
  • information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as Requires Improvement overall and good for Safe services.

We found that:

  • The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
  • The practice learned and made improvements when things went wrong.
  • There was compassionate, inclusive and effective leadership at all levels.
  • There were systems and processes for learning, continuous improvement and innovation.

We have rated this practice as requires improvement for provising Effective and Well Led services.

We found that:

  • The practice was not able to demonstrate how they monitored the percentage of patients who had attended appointments to monitor long-term conditions and mental health.
  • The practice was able to demonstrate that staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles.
  • There were some clear responsibilities, roles and systems of accountability to support good governance and management. However, other governance systems were ineffective.
  • There were shortfalls relating to the management of risks and performance.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

  • Reduce prescribing of antibiotics used to treat uncomplicated urinary tract infections and Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
  • Promote the uptake of childhood immunisations.
  • Improve data for cancer screening indicators.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care

18 July 2017

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Penntorr Health on 18 July 2017. 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 a system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
  • The practice had clearly defined and embedded systems to minimise risks to patient safety.
  • Staff were aware of current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills and knowledge to deliver effective care and treatment.
  • Results from the national GP patient survey showed patients were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
  • Patients we spoke with 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 had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. For example, there was a fully equipped operating theatre on site. The practice was clean, tidy and hygienic. We found that suitable arrangements were in place to ensure the cleanliness of the practice was maintained effectively.
  • The practice was able to provide extended dermatology services. GPs with a special interest delivered these, so patients were able to access rapid diagnosis and treatment for conditions such as low risk skin cancer.
  • 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 the requirements of the duty of candour. Examples we reviewed showed the practice complied with these requirements.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

The practice had won an award for ‘Working Together – Effective Collaboration Working on NHS Research in Cornwall’. This award was for the whole team approach to research. The practice had been conducting research studies for around 20 years and was committed to providing its patients with a high standard of care and attention. These studies included diabetes, flu, arthritis, ear pain in children and dementia. Clinical trials are research studies in which people help test treatments or approaches to prevention or diagnosis of health conditions to evaluate whether they are safe and effective. They were also named the highest recruiter to research studies in Cornwall for 2016/17; demonstrating how hard they had been working to ensure that patients had the opportunity to take part in clinical research.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

17 December 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Penntorr Health on 17 December 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.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
  • Patients said they found it easy to make appointments and that there were urgent appointments available the same day.
  • There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
  • The majority of patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect. However, not all felt cared for, supported and listened to.

  • The practice worked closely with other organisations and with the local community in planning how services were provided to ensure that they meet patients’ needs. For example, the practice offered ultrasound, general dermatology and hand surgery services on the Penntorr Health practice site.

  • The practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a consequence of feedback from patients and from the patient participation group. For example, the display screen in the Penntorr Health practice waiting area had been improved with the use of a clearer type face. For example, where patients over the age of 75 had been given a named GP who was not their usual one. The PPG fed this back to the practice who wrote to patients telling patients if they preferred a different GP could be allocated.

  • The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority. The strategy to deliver this vision had been produced with stakeholders and was regularly reviewed and discussed with staff.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

  • The purpose built premises at Penntorr Health provided excellent, safe and accessible facilities for patients. These premises were maintained to a high degree of cleanliness, through regular auditing of the environment.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

  • Devise an action plan with regard to improving patient feedback satisfaction scores where these fell below CCG and national averages in relation to nursing and reception staff.

  • Consider mental health related performance indicators that are below the CCG and national average in terms of additional staff training and staffing resources.  

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice