Somerton House Surgery

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Somerton House Surgery on 20 October 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good with the safe domain requiring improvement.

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

• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. All opportunities for learning from internal and external incidents were maximised.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed. We saw evidence of monitoring of infection control and fire safety.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment. However, we found some gaps in the staff training and recruitment checks and records.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available within the practice but there was no information for patients to view on the practice website. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Results from the national GP patient survey showed patients were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Feedback from patients about their care was consistently positive. Patients told us that staff went the extra mile and the care that they received exceeded their expectations.
• The practice had strong and visible clinical and managerial leadership and governance arrangements; and staff felt supported by management and we saw evidence of eeffective arrangements for communication, including a monthly whole practice meeting.
• Patients we spoke with said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• The practice was aware of the requirements of the duty of candour.
• The practice worked closely with other organisations and with the local community in planning how services were provided to ensure that they meet patients’ needs. For example, monthly multi-disciplinary meetings were held and we saw evidence of effective liaison with residential and nursing homes.

The areas where the provider must make improvement are:

• Ensure procedures for effective staff recruitment are fully implemented and records are complete so that only staff who meet the requirements of the regulations are employed. For example, ensuring all staff have records of appropriate checks, including written references and a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check in place before employment.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Review systems for monitoring training to ensure all staff receive relevant, up to date training and this is recorded, including training in safeguarding children and infection prevention and control.
• Review arrangements to ensure patients can access information on how to complain, including via the practice website.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice