Conisbrough Medical Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Conisbrough Medical Practice on 26 February 2020 as information reviewed as part of our annual regulatory review of this service indicated there may have been a change in quality.

At the last inspection in January 2016 we rated the practice as good overall and for delivering safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led services.

We have 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 have rated this practice as good overall and good for the delivery of safe, effective, caring and well-led services as:

• Care was provided in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• Staff treated 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 way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.

However, the practice is rated as requires improvement for the provision of a responsive service and for all population groups as verified patient feedback in relation to telephone access and access to appointments was below local and national averages and had deteriorated over time.

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice was proactive in their care and support of vulnerable patients. For example, in recognition of the fact that the provider had a lot of gypsies and travellers registered with them who were often moved-on they were given priority access appointments and a paper copy of their medical records to carry with them to aid continuity of care. A member of staff acted as a gypsy/traveller liaison worker and a gypsy elder was a member of the practice patient participation group. The provider was able to evidence an increase in childhood immunisation and cervical smear attainment for this group pf patients. They had also been proactive in their support of vulnerable patients affected by severe flooding to the area in late 2019.
• The practice was proactive in supporting students interested in pursuing a career in the field of medicine in the hope that they would choose to work in the local area once qualified and aid problems with recruitment and retention. They offered work placements and had included links on their website to RCGP videos on social media providing insight into a career in general practice. Feedback from students who had participated in the scheme was positive.

Although we did not identify any breaches in regulation the provider should:

• Continue to survey patients about telephone access to determine whether any further improvements to the telephone system are required.
• Continue with plans to review the process of recording that appropriate medication reviews had been undertaken.
• Continue to implement plans to improve cervical screening uptake.
• Offer patients diagnosed with cancer a review within six months of diagnosis.

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