Lindum Medical Practice

Specifically, we found the practice to require improvement for providing safe and well led services. It also required improvement for providing services for all the population groups. It was good for providing an effective, caring and responsive service.

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.
• There was a clear system for reporting incidents, near misses or concerns but evidence of learning and communication to staff was limited.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed except for DBS for staff undertaking chaperone duties.
• Data showed patient outcomes were at or above average for the locality. The practice achieved 95.1% of the total QOF target in 2014, which was the same as the CCG average and 1.6% above the national average.
• Audits had been carried out but we saw limited evidence that audits were driving improvement in performance to improve patient outcomes.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• 94% patients who responded to the January 2015 national patient survey said they had confidence and trust in the last GP they saw.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• The practice had open access clinics on a daily basis. However patients said that they sometimes had to wait a long time for non-urgent appointments.
• 91% of people who responded to the January 2015 national patient survey said they could get through easily to the surgery by phone compared to the CCG average of 78% and national average of 74%.
• The practice had a number of policies and procedures to govern activity. We found that the practice did not keep them in one place which made it difficult for staff to access them.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

• Ensure there is a robust system to manage and learn from significant events, near misses and complaints.
• Have a system in place to ensure audit cycles have been completed and actions identified are followed up and completed.
• Ensure actions from fire safety risk assessment have been carried out to ensure patient, staff and visitor safety whilst in the practice.
• Ensure DBS or risk assessment is undertaken for staff who act as a chaperone.
• Ensure patients’ medical records are stored securely at all times.

In addition the provider should:

• Improve the availability of non-urgent appointments.

• Ensure staff have appropriate policies and guidance to carry out their roles in a safe and effective manner which are reflective of the requirements of the practice. Ensure staff know where to find the policies and only have one policy for each area
• Have cleaning schedules in place for each area of the practice. Review and do spot checks to ensure an appropriate standard of cleaning has taken place.
• Improve their screening uptake figures across all screening services.
• Have information available to patients and in all clinical rooms in regard to the availability of a chaperone.
• Have a system in place to ensure all staff have awareness of Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Gillick competencies.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice