Archived: Meden Medical Services

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of Meden Medical Services on 16 December 2015. The practice was rated as requires improvement overall. The fully comprehensive report on the December 2015 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Meden Medical Services on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

We carried out a further announced comprehensive inspection at Meden Medical Services on 27 June 2017. Overall the practice is rated as requires improvement.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• There was a system in place for reporting and recording significant events. However, there had been no significant events reported or reviewed since December 2016 for both the main and branch surgeries.

• Data showed patient outcomes were low compared to the national average.

• Data from the GP patient survey showed that patients rated the practice lower than average for several aspects of care. However, patients we spoke with said they were treated with compassion and respect and were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment. Feedback received from 18 CQC patient comment cards were all positive about their experience of the practice.

• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.

• The practice and branch surgery had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.

• The practice provided a range of services to meet the needs of its population. For example, the practice offered a minor injuries service.

• There was a leadership structure in place and staff told us they felt supported by management.

• The practice sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on. The practice had an active patient participation group (PPG) in place who met on a regular basic and carried out patient surveys in the patient waiting area.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

• Address the issues highlighted in the national GP survey in order to improve patient satisfaction, including appointment access and consultations with GPs and nurses.

• Ensure there is an effective system in place to manage and monitor processes to improve outcomes for patients.

• Review process in place to ensure blank prescription forms are tracked throughout the practice.

In addition the provider should:

• Continue to review the process for significant events on a regular basis to ensure any themes or trends are identified and learning has been embedded.

• Provide practice information to patients in particular in relation to the practice zero tolerance policy for patients.

• Ensure that safety updates from the MHRA received by the practice, are disseminated to relevant members of staff ensuring adequate records are held to evidence that relevant staff have received these alerts and actions taken as necessary.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice