Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Hawthorns Surgery on 25 February 2016. The overall rating was good. During the inspection we found breaches of legal requirements and the provider was rated as requires improvement under the safe key question. Following this inspection the practice sent to us an action plan detailing what they would do to meet the legal requirements in relation to the following:-
- Ensuring that there is regular testing of water supply temperatures in order to minimise the risk of exposure of staff and patients to Legionella bacteria.
- Ensuring the timely review of all documents, patient reports and correspondence received by the practice in order to promote safe outcomes for patients.
The full comprehensive report on the 25 February 2016 inspection outcome can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Hawthorns Surgery on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
An announced focused inspection was carried out on 28 March 2017. This inspection was to verify if the practice had carried out their action plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulations that we had identified in our previous inspection on 25 February 2016. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also additional improvements made since our last inspection.
At our previous inspection on 25 February 2016, we rated the practice as requires improvement for providing safe services as water temperatures were not being monitored in accordance with the Legionella risk assessment and correspondence received by the practice was not being actioned in a timely manner. At this inspection we found that the practice had completed their action plan and the practice is now rated as good for providing safe services.
Our key findings at this inspection, 28 March 2017 were as follows:
- Water temperatures were being monitored regularly in accordance with the Legionella risk assessment.
- The practice had implemented a system to ensure there was clear responsibility for handling correspondence and to ensure that it was reviewed and dealt with in a timely manner.
At our previous inspection on 25 February 2016, we also found that the arrangements for the storage of clinical waste awaiting collection could be improved.
During our inspection 28 March 2017 we saw;
- The practice had improved the arrangements for clinical waste to ensure that it was stored securely prior to collection.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice