Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Suvajit Chatterjee Vernon Park Surgery on the 2 November 2016. At the inspection in November the overall rating for the practice was good, although the key question Safe was rated requires improvement. This was specifically in relation to recruitment procedures and the checks carried out to ensure the suitability of staff for their roles. We found there were gaps in the recruitment records of some staff. The practice did not maintain appropriate records to demonstrate that all recruited staff including some clinical staff had been appropriately vetted to ensure they were suitable and safe to work with vulnerable adults and children.
The full comprehensive report on the November 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Dr Suvajit Chatterjee on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
This inspection was a desk-based review carried out on the 23 February 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the one breach in regulation that we identified in our previous inspection on 2 November 2016. This report covers our findings in relation to that requirement. We did not request information for this desk top review about any progress the practice may have undertaken in responding to the areas we identified previously where the provider should take action.
The practice is now rated good for all key questions and the overall rating remains good.
Our key findings were as follows:
The practice submitted an action plan with timescales detailing how they intended to improve their recruitment and vetting procedures. They supplied us with evidence to confirm that all staff employed at the practice had been appropriately vetted, that disclosure and barring checks (DBS) were available for all staff, including locum clinical staff.
In addition the practice updated their recruitment policy and developed and implemented a risk assessment in response to concerns identified following a DBS check.
At our previous inspection on 2 November 2016 we identified the following areas that the provider should take action on:
- Develop and strengthen governance arrangements by ensuring written records of all informal meetings, audits and checks carried out are maintained.
- Review the practice management arrangements to provide opportunities to reflect on past and current achievements and plan more effectively the future direction of the GP service.
- Review the access and availability of clinical polices to support clinical staff practice.
- Continue to promote, develop and facilitate a patient participation group to provide feedback about the service provided by the practice.
- Pursue with the CCG the funding for the development and refurbishment of the GP practice.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice