The Albion Surgery

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Albion Surgery on 28 July 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good. Specifically, we found the service was good for providing effective, caring, responsive and well-led services, we found it to require improvement for providing safe services.

Please note that when referring to information throughout this report, for example any reference to the Quality and Outcomes Framework data, this relates to the most recent information available to the CQC at that time.

Our key findings were as follows:

• There were processes for reporting incidents and concerns which staff understood. Information about safety was recorded and monitored and actions were taken to make improvements when required;
• Improvements had been made to the risk assessment process and these were being updated;
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered following best practice guidance;
• Staff completed training appropriate to their roles and further training needs were identified and planned;
• Patients told us they were respected, their privacy was maintained and they were involved in decisions about their care and treatment;
• Patients said staff were kind, caring, approachable, helpful and knowledgeable;
• Information about the services provided and how to complain were accessible to patients at the practice, in the patient information leaflet and on the practice website;
• Patients who spoke with us had mixed experiences of getting appointments: for some this was easy, while others experienced difficulties getting through to the practice on the telephone;
• The practice provided appointments outside of work and school hours and urgent appointments were provided on the same day;
• The practice had good facilities and was equipped to treat patients and meet their needs;
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management;
• The practice sought feedback from patients and staff and acted upon it.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

• The Albion Social Club, which was initially set up by one of the nurses in 2013 to help prevent social isolation had become a fortnightly event which the Patient Participation Group (PPG) became involved in. The club met two evenings a month and had a regular programme of events and talks booked. The Club has been used to inform patients of the PPG and to seek attendees opinions of the services provided. The GPs identified patients to the PPG to be invited to attend the Social Club. Patient’s feedback about the Social Club was positive, with individuals appreciating the different events provided, the information aspect and the opportunity to meet socially on a regular basis.

However there were areas where the provider should make improvements.

The provider should:

• Review and update health and safety risk assessments and ensure that actions are completed.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice