Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Drs Shah & Talpur on 12 April 2017. Overall the practice is now rated as Good.
The practice had previously been inspected on 1 August 2016. Following this comprehensive inspection the overall rating for the practice was Requires Improvement. A total of three breaches of legal requirements were found and three requirement notices were served. The practice provided us with an action plan detailing how they were going to make the required
improvements in relation to:
Regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) 2014: Safe care and treatment.
Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) 2014: Good Governance.
Regulation 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) 2014: Fit and proper persons employed.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Drs Shah & Talpur on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Our key findings were as follows:
- There was an open and transparent approach to safety and a system in place for reporting and recording significant events. Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses.
- Risks to patients were assessed and managed, with the exception of those relating to recruitment checks.
- Staff were aware of current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills and knowledge to deliver effective care and treatment.
- 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.
- Information about services and how to complain was available. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
- Patients we spoke with said they found it easy to make an appointment, with urgent appointments available the same day.
- The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
- There was a leadership structure and staff felt supported by the management team.
- The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
- The practice had adequate arrangements to respond to emergencies and major incidents. However, not all GPs carried medicines in their bag for use in acute situations when on home visits and an assessment had not been completed to determine the risk of this.
The areas where the provider must make improvements are:
In addition the provider should:
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Develop a policy and assess the risks of not carrying medicines for use in acute situations on home visits and mitigate the risks to patients.
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Develop a clear and documented strategy and supporting business plan to reflect the vision and values for the team to work towards.
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Document action taken to address any improvements identified as a result of infection control audits.
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Complete an analysis of complaints to identify any common trends to improve the quality of care provided.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice