Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Naz Asghar, also known as the Welcome Practice on 2 August 2016. The overall rating for the practice was Inadequate and the practice was placed into special measures. The full comprehensive report on the August 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Dr Naz Asghar on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
We undertook this announced comprehensive inspection on 10 August 2017 to check that the practice had made improvements in order to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breach of regulations 12 (Safe care and treatment), 18 (Staffing) and 19 (Fit and proper persons employed) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements.
Overall the practice is now rated as requires improvement.
Our key findings were as follows:
- The practice had systems in place to minimise risks to patient safety; however, there was a lack of formal protocols in place to ensure that the Healthcare Assistant worked within their scope of competence.
- During the initial inspection in August 2016 we found that the practice’s arrangements to monitor the performance of the practice, including those relating to clinical audit, were insufficient. At this re-inspection we found that the practice had addressed several issues relating to the practice’s performance and that this was being monitored; however, there were some areas where improvements were still required, particularly in relation to their exception reporting rate.
- During the previous inspection we found that not all members of staff were aware of their responsibility to inform the GP of safety incidents, and that when incidents were reported, the practice did not undertake a thorough analysis to establish what had happened and what lessons could be learned. When we re-inspected we found that processes had been put in place to ensure clear and consistent recording of incidents, and that all staff were aware of the processes and their responsibilities.
- During the previous inspection we found that the practice had failed to complete background checks during the recruitment of some staff, and that not all staff had received an appraisal. When we re-inspected we found that background checks had been completed for all staff recruited following the first inspection, and that all staff had received an appraisal.
- At our previous inspection in August 2016 we found that the practice did not have adequate arrangements in place to mitigate risks, including those relating to their ability to respond to medical emergencies. When we re-inspected we found that these issues had been addressed.
- During the previous inspection we found that the practice had insufficient arrangements in place in order to identify patients with caring responsibilities. When we re-inspected we found that these arrangements had improved and the practice had increased the number of patients identified as having caring responsibilities by over 50%.
- During the previous inspection we found that there was a lack of management capacity, which had resulted in a lack of effective governance processes. When we re-inspected we found that a Practice Manager had been appointed and that processes were in place to ensure that staff were supported.
- Care planning was in place for patients who needed additional support; however, patients were not routinely provided with a copy of their care plan and there was a lack of focus on improving clinical outcomes.
There were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.
Importantly, the provider must:
- Ensure that persons providing care or treatment to service users have the qualifications, competence, skills and experience to do so safely.
- Assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the services provided in the carrying on of the regulated activity.
In addition the provider should:
- Maintain the newly introduced cleaning schedule for clinical equipment.
- Record emergency contact telephone numbers within the business continuity plan.
- Make all staff aware of the location of emergency alert buttons.
- Consider whether it is appropriate to provide patients with a copy of their care plan.
This practice will remain in special measures. Where a service is rated as inadequate for one of the five key questions or one of the six population groups and after re-inspection has failed to make sufficient improvement, and is still rated as inadequate for any key question or population group, we place it into special measures.
Services placed in special measures will be inspected again within six months. If, after re-inspection, the service has failed to make sufficient improvement, and is still rated as inadequate for any population group, key question or overall, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures to begin the process of preventing the provider from operating the service. This will lead to cancelling their registration or varying the terms of their registration within six months if they do not improve.
The service will be kept under review and if needed could be escalated to urgent enforcement action. Where necessary, another inspection will be conducted within a further six months, and if there is not enough improvement we will move to close the service.
Special measures will give people who use the service the reassurance that the care they get should improve.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice