Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Brompton Medical Centre on 20 August 2015. Overall the practice is rated as requires improvement.
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 across all the areas we inspected were as follows:
- Staff understood their responsibilities to raise concerns, however significant events were not routinely recorded and learning form incidents was not widely communicated with staff.
- Although some audits had been carried out, we saw no evidence that audits were driving improvement in performance to improve patient outcomes.
- Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
- Urgent appointments were usually available on the day they were requested.
- The practice had a number of policies and procedures to govern activity, but there was no process in place for the review of policies and assurance staff had read, understood and complied with these policies.
- The practice proactively sought feedback from patients which it acted on.
The areas where the provider must make improvements are:
- Develop a programme of continuous clinical and internal audit to monitor quality and make improvements.
- Ensure all significant events are routinely recorded and learning is communicated with staff.
- Ensure care plans developed are comprehensive and are routinely reviewed to meet patients needs.
The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
- Ensure emergency medicines and equipment is easily accessible to staff in the event of an emergency.
- Ensure information on how to complain is available for patients and easy to understand.
- Ensure all staff receive regular appraisals.
- Put systems in place for the review of policies and the assurance staff have read, understood and comply with these policies.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice