02 October 2014
During a routine inspection
Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
The practice is rated as requires improvement
Our key findings were as follows:
- Patients were satisfied with access to the practice. There was a flexible appointment system, a weekend walk-in service and online consultations offered.
- Patients said the practice was caring and staff treated them with dignity and respect. They said clinical staff involved them in decisions about their care and treatment.
- On the day of our inspection the practice was clean, hygienic and well equipped.
- The practice had some governance arrangements in place and was supported by the providers corporate team.
- The practice actively sought patient’s feedback and acted on it.
We found areas of outstanding practice including:
- The practice offered online consultations for a range of medical conditions allowing patients to receive advice or treatment from their home.
- The practice had a close working relationship with a local charity that offered community support to patients with non-medical needs. The practice attended regular meetings with the charity to identify patients who might benefit from this form of support. The charity offered a telephone counselling service for these patients.
- A weekend walk-in service was available accessible to patients who were unregistered.
However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.
Importantly, the provider must:
- Share learning from significant events/complaints with all staff
- Disseminate safety alerts to appropriate staff and ensure they are acted on
- Hold regular clinical meetings to share best practice and learning from significant events/complaints
- Carry out clinical audit to improve outcomes for patients
- Ensure all patients with long-term conditions are reviewed appropriately
- Develop care plans for all patients with complex needs
- Ensure all patients medical records are accurate and up to date
In addition the provider should:
- Ensure all staff are aware of the practice mission statement/aims and objectives
- Proactively offer health checks for patients over 40 years old and influenza vaccinations for ‘at risk’ patients
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice