Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Weaver Vale Surgery on 16 June 2015. Overall the practice is rated as requires improvement.
Specifically, we found the practice required improvement for providing safe and well-led services. We found the practice was good for providing effective, caring and responsive services. There were aspects of the safe and well-led domains that impacted on all population groups.
Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were:
- Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and to report incidents. Information about safety was recorded and reviewed. Some incidents which were recorded as complaints lacked follow through on corrective actions. Information that came to light in complaints, was not treated as a significant event, and information was not shared to prevent the incident reoccurring.
- Risks to patients were assessed and well managed, with the exception of those relating to recruitment checks, and checks on emergency medicines
- Data showed patient outcomes in-line with those expected for the locality. Data collection exercises had been conducted to evaluate patient outcomes. Practice GPs could show evidence of clinical audit in relation to treatment of patients.
- Patients told us that GPs and nursing staff were caring and compassionate
- The practice was responsive to its patients and acted on feedback to improve patient access to services
- Practice leaders recognised the opportunity for change and worked with stakeholders to secure the best future for the practice and its patients. We did note gaps within the leadership team which hindered the practice’s daily working relationships. Leaders failed to investigate and respond fully to concerns raised.
There were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.
Importantly, the provider must:
- Apply recruitment checks to all staff in line with the requirements of Schedule 3.
- Investigate concerns and apply proportionate action to any failures identified.
In addition the provider should:
- Improve engagement with the patient participant group.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice