The Care Quality Commission
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  • GP practice

Marple Medical Practice

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

50 Stockport Road, Marple, Stockport, Greater Manchester, SK6 6AB (0161) 983 5375

Provided and run by:
Marple Medical Practice

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

We carried out a review of the data available to us about Marple Medical Practice on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.

This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.

If you have concerns about Marple Medical Practice, you can give feedback on this service.

28 December 2019

During an annual regulatory review

We reviewed the information available to us about Marple Medical Practice on 28 December 2019. We did not find evidence of significant changes to the quality of service being provided since the last inspection. As a result, we decided not to inspect the surgery at this time. We will continue to monitor this information about this service throughout the year and may inspect the surgery when we see evidence of potential changes.

10 April 208

During a routine inspection

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection 7 October 2015 – Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Marple Medical Centre on 10 April 2018. This inspection was carried out under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. The inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

At this inspection we found:

  • The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
  • The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills and knowledge to deliver effective care and treatment.
  • Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
  • Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were usually able to access care when they needed it.
  • There was a strong focus on continuous learning, engagement and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
  • 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.
  • 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.

We saw two areas of outstanding practice:

  • The practice provided staff with additional external training on how to deliver care to patients with learning disabilities and reserved weekly appointments at a pre-agreed time for consultations for those patients and their carers.
  • The practice manager publicised their direct dial telephone number and email address to all patients, should they require resolution to an issue.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

  • Produce a fire safety policy to describe how fire safety is managed in the practice and increase the number of fire drills.
  • Reception/administration staff appraisals should be completed regularly.
  • All medical equipment should be regularly maintained within date and calibrated appropriately.
  • Consider an annual review of serious events and incidents.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGPChief Inspector of General Practice

7 October 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Marple Medical Practice on 7 October 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

  • Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored and addressed.
  • Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
  • Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Patients were complimentary about the overall quality of service they received but some said that they found it difficult sometimes getting through to the practice by telephone, especially in the early morning. Urgent appointments were available the same day. The practice also provided a triage service.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand
  • The practice had facilities and equipment 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 practice benchmarked the service they provided and strived to achieve optimum results in patient care.
  • There was awareness of where the practice needed to improve the services it provided and action plans were implemented to address these areas.

We saw areas of outstanding practice including:

  • Systems to monitor and track the progress of most aspects of service delivery were recorded on spreadsheet ‘trackers’. These enabled staff to quickly identify progress in achieving specific targets and gaps in service delivery so that appropriate remedial action was taken to the benefit of patients.
  • The induction programme for non-clinical staff was comprehensive and new staff were supported by a practice trainer who spent one to one time with the new employee going through the practice policies, procedures and supporting them with supervised practice over a period of several weeks.

However there were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

Importantly the provider should:

  • Ensure the practice’s recruitment policy and implementation reflects the current regulatory requirements, and includes the recruitment of locum GPs and that gaps in required documentation is monitored to enable an efficient speedy response.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice