Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out a comprehensive inspection of Grove Park Terrace Surgery on 18 November 2014. We rated the practice as ‘Requires Improvement’ for the service being safe, and ‘Good’ for the service being effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs and well-led. We rated the practice as ‘Good’ for the care provided to older people, people with long term conditions, families, children and young people, working age people (including those recently retired and students), people living in vulnerable circumstances and people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).
We gave the practice an overall rating of ‘Good.’
Our key findings were as follows:
- Patients reported good access to the service. They were satisfied with their overall experience of making appointments that were convenient for them.
- Patients said they were treated with dignity, respect and compassion. They said that they were supported through periods of serious illness and bereavement.
- The practice had a good track record on safety and some systems in place to manage safety including procedures for reporting incidents and safeguarding concerns.
- The practice learnt when things went wrong and shared learning with all staff to minimise the risk of reoccurrence.
- The practice understood the needs of its patients and provided services that met their needs.
- The practice had strong leadership and staff were supported to deliver effective care.
However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.
Importantly, the provider must:
- Carry out regular infection control audits to ensure infection control standards are maintained.
- Carry out a Legionella risk assessment to assess the risks associated with Legionella (a bacteria found in the environment which can contaminate water systems in buildings).
In addition the provider should:
- Formalise a business continuity plan to ensure continuity of care for patients in the event of a major disruption to the service.
- Provide staff with access to and training in the use of an automated external defibrillator (used to attempt to restart a person’s heart in an emergency) in line with the Resuscitation Council (UK) recommendations for primary care.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice