Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection 22/06/2015 – Good)
The key questions are rated as:
Are services safe? – Good
Are services effective? – Good
Are services caring? – Good
Are services responsive? – Good
Are services well-led? - Good
As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:
Older People – Good
People with long-term conditions – Good
Families, children and young people – Good
Working age people (including those recently retired and students) – Good
People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good
People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Conran Medical Centre on 27 February 2018.
At this inspection we found:
- The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
- The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.
- The practice had an effective programme of continuous clinical and internal audits. The audits demonstrated quality improvements and staff were actively engaged in monitoring and improving patient outcomes as a result.
- The partners encouraged a culture of openness and honesty. The practice had systems for being aware of notifiable safety incidents and sharing the information with staff and ensuring appropriate action was taken.
- Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
- Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
- The practice had an established, proactive patient participation group.
- There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
We saw one area of outstanding practice:
The practice was –first in the UK to pilot the Lung Health Check (LHC) with The Macmillan Cancer Improvement Partnership. The aim of the pilot was to identify and diagnose lung disease earlier in smokers and former smokers. The one-stop-shop Lung Health check included a CT scan which took place within the mobile clinic. This resulted in one patient being identified and treated within the practice. Due to the success of the pilot this was being rolled out city wide.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice