The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Millview Medical Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

1 Sleaford Road, Heckington, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 9QP (01529) 460213

Provided and run by:
Millview Medical Centre

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

We carried out a review of the data available to us about Millview Medical Centre on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.

This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.

If you have concerns about Millview Medical Centre, you can give feedback on this service.

29 April 2021

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out an announced inspection at Millview Medical Centre on 29 April 2021.

We have rated this practice as Good overall and Good for all population groups.

The practice is rated as follows;

Safe - Good

Effective - Good

Well-led - Good

We rated all the population groups as Good.

Following our previous inspection on 7 November 2019 the practice was rated Requires Improvement overall and for the safe and effective key questions. It was rated as inadequate for providing well-led services and as good for providing caring and responsive services.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Millview Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

The inspection focused on;

  • The key questions of safe, effective and well-led
  • Breaches of regulations and ‘shoulds’ identified in previous inspection
  • Ratings carried forward from previous inspection

How we carried out the inspection/review

Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.

This included:

  • Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
  • Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system and discussing findings with the provider.
  • Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider
  • Requesting evidence from the provider.
  • A short site visit.

Our findings

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

  • what we found when we inspected
  • information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We found that:

  • The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
  • Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
  • Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
  • The practice adjusted how it delivered services to meet the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
  • The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.
  • Dispensing policies and protocols had been reviewed and strengthened to ensure effective oversight and governance.
  • The practice had undergone a positive transformation in terms of management and patient engagement.
  • Staff morale and well-being were promoted to create a cohesive and effective practice team.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care

7 Nov 2019

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Millview Medical Centre on 7 November 2019 as a result of concerns we had been made aware of. We had previously inspected this practice on 2 August 2016 when we rated the practice as Good overall.

We have rated this practice as requires improvement overall. We have rated all the population groups as requires improvement as the issues in the safe, effective and well-led key questions affect all patients.

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

  • what we found when we inspected
  • information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We rated the practice as requires improvement for providing safe services because:

  • The practice did not have clear systems and processes to keep patients safe.
  • The practice did not have appropriate systems in place for the safe management of medicines.
  • The practice had not conducted a thorough investigation when things went wrong.

We rated the practice as requires improvement for providing effective services because:

  • Staff were not provided with the support to obtain further role specific training and qualifications nor did they provide protected time for learning and development.
  • Immunisation rates for children were below target in three of the four indicators.
  • Cervical cancer screening uptake was below target.

We rated the practice as inadequate for providing well-led services because:

  • Leaders could not show that they had the capacity and skills to deliver high quality, sustainable care.
  • While the practice had a vision, that vision was not supported by a credible strategy.
  • The practice culture did not effectively support high quality sustainable care.
  • The overall governance arrangements were ineffective.
  • The practice did not have clear and effective processes for managing risks, issues and performance.
  • We saw little evidence of systems and processes for learning, continuous improvement and innovation.
  • The management of the dispensary had not been effective.
  • The investigation of significant events relating to the dispensary had not been carried out expeditiously or effectively.
  • The provider had not made statutory notifications to CQC.

We rated the practice as good for providing caring and responsive services because:

  • Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
  • The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

  • Ensure that care and treatment is provided in a safe way.
  • Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care

02 August 2016

During an inspection looking at part of the service

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced follow up inspection at Millview Medical Centre on 02 August 2016. This inspection was a follow-up to our inspection of 07 July 2015 when the practice was rated as ‘requires improvement’. The practice submitted an action plan detailing how they would meet the regulations governing providers of health and social care.

At our follow-up inspection, we found the practice had made improvements in the two domains previously rated as ‘requires improvement’ and overall the practice is rated as good.

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

  • There was an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events throughout the practice and lessons were shared to make sure action was taken to improve safety in the practice.

  • The practice had clearly defined and embedded systems, processes and practices in place to keep patients safe and safeguarded from abuse.

  • The practice was visibly clean and had established infection control procedures.

  • The dispensary was run by competent staff with safe processes in place.

  • Staff assessed needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance.

  • Templates were available on the patient administration system that reflected best practice guidance.

  • Clinical audits were carried out to improve the quality of the services provided.

  • Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment. Staff were supported and encouraged to undertake additional training for their continuous professional development.

  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in decisions about their care and treatment.

  • One GP was accredited to provide orthopaedic services under an Any Qualified Provider contract commissioned by the local clinical commissioning group.

  • Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand and evidence showed the practice responded quickly to issues raised. Learning from complaints was shared with staff and other stakeholders.

  • There was an overarching governance framework which supported the delivery of the strategy and good quality care. This included arrangements to monitor and improve quality and identify risk, policies and procedures and regular governance meetings.

  • The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.

  • The patient participation group was well established and active within the practice.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

7 July 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Millview Medical Centre on 7 July 2015. Overall the practice is rated as requires improvement.

Specifically, we found the practice to require improvement for providing safe and well led services. It also required improvement for providing services for all the population groups. It was good for providing an effective, caring and responsive service.

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

  • Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and to report incidents.
  • Risks to patients were assessed and well managed, with the exception of legionella checks.
  • This practice was not an outlier for any QOF (or other national) clinical targets. It achieved 99.8% of the total QOF target in 2014, which was 2.9% points above CCG Average and 6.3% above national average.
  • 84% of people who responded to the July 2015 national patient survey said the GP was good at listening to them compared to the CCG average of 89% and national average of 89%.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Information about how to complain was not readily available.
  • Urgent appointments were usually available on the day they were requested. However patients said that they sometimes had to wait a long time for non-urgent appointments.
  • The practice had a number of policies and procedures to govern activity.
  • The practice had sought feedback from staff or patients.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

  • Ensure there is a robust system to manage and learn from significant events, near misses and complaints.
  • Ensure that a legionella risk assessment is carried out. Put a policy in place to provide guidance for staff and carry out regular water checks to reduce the risk of legionella.
  • Ensure there is a robust system to record and manage complaints. Identify themes and trends and ensure lessons are learnt.

In addition the provider should:

  • Ensure policies and procedures are reviewed and identify the responsible person.
  • Ensure basic life support training is carried out by a competent person
  • Have a system in place to ensure audit cycles have been completed.
  • Ensure the business continuity plan has risks and mitigating actions.
  • Ensure nursing staff who undertake a formal chaperone role have training in order to develop the competencies required for the role.
  • Ensure Standard operating procedures for the dispensary include the competence level required of the dispensing staff.
  • Have practice meetings which are regular, structured and relevant to give all staff the opportunity to take part, where information is shared and lessons learnt
  • Have a robust system in place to track prescription pads.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice