We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Mathibalasingham Chandrakumar on 18 March 2019 as part of our inspection programme.
At the last inspection in May 2018 we rated the practice as inadequate. The practice was placed in special measures because:
• The practice did not have clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen.
• The practice did not have an effective system to manage infection prevention and control.
• The practice did not have a systematic approach for health and safety audits.
• The practice did not have reliable systems for appropriate and safe handling of medicines.
• Clinical audits did not include measurable outcomes, nor were they effectively used to drive quality improvement.
• Not all leaders were visible in the practice and there was a lack of oversight in areas such as clinical governance, risk assessments recruitment and future planning.
At this inspection, we found that the provider had satisfactorily addressed these areas.
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. We rated it as good for its treatment of all the population groups, with the exception of people with long term conditions for which it is rated as requires improvement.
We found that:
• The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. 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-centre care.
Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:
• Improve the identification of carers to enable this group of patients to access the care and support they need.
As a result of the improvements made the practice has been re rated and removed from special measures.
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