Archived: Wychall Lane Surgery Also known as Dr Leigh & Partners

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Wychall Lane Surgery on 2 September 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events. Staff were aware of this and the practice as a whole demonstrated a commitment to learning from them.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed and there was evidence of thorough discussions regarding safety and risk issues. There was good use of information technology (IT) to facilitate management of risk in the practice. We noted that whilst there was evidence that safety alerts had been managed in the past, the ownership had not been transferred since the recent practice management changes. However, the practice addressed this immediately, initiated discussions with all the partners and introduced a system to deal with safety alerts promptly and appropriately and provided evidence of this.

• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance and we saw that discussions and education took place around this. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• The practice demonstrated commitment to health promotion and education of patients regarding their health and encouraged the uptake of health screening programmes.
• Patients’ satisfaction with the practice was high and patients reported they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment. The National Patient Survey data published in July 2016 was also consistently high specifically regarding the caring aspects of the practice.
• The practice had nominated a carers champion and was actively seeking to provide information to support carers.
• Information about services and how to complain was available in the practice leaflet and on the website and was easy to understand although this was not advertised in the waiting areas. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment, although making an appointment with a preferred GP required a longer wait. Urgent appointments were available the same day and several patients we spoke with had been accommodated on the day. The practice was also part of a pilot scheme providing access to GP appointments at weekends at a local centre.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour and had a policy providing guidance on this.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Continue to monitor the system re-established for managing safety alerts from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
• Maintain an inventory of standard medicines kept in the practice.
• Continue to update policies and training in line with the practice plan.
• Ensure information about how to complain is displayed for patients to see.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice