The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Islington House Medical Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

45 Everton Road, Liverpool, Merseyside, L6 2EH

Provided and run by:
Islington House Medical Centre

Important: This service was previously registered at a different address - see old profile

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Islington Medical Centre is an NHS GP practice which provides primary care services to patients in an area of Liverpool. We carried out an announced assessment of one quality statement, equity of access, under the key question Responsive at Islington Medical Centre on the 20 February 2024. We carried out the assessment as part of our work to understand how practices are working to try to meet peoples demands for access and to better understand the experiences of people who use services and providers. We recognise the work that GP practices have been engaged in to continue to provide safe, quality care to the people they serve. We know staff are carrying this out whilst the demand for general practice remains exceptionally high, with more appointments being provided than ever. However, in this challenging context, access to general practice remains a concern for people. Our strategy makes a commitment to deliver regulation driven by people’s needs and experiences of care. The assessment of the quality statement equity of access includes looking at what practices are doing innovatively to improve patient access to primary care and sharing this information to drive improvement. Overall, the practice is rated as good and the key question responsive continues to be rated as providing a good service. We found that the practice had organised services to meet patients’ needs, particularly those who were most likely to have difficulty accessing care. The practice sought out and used feedback and other data/information to monitor and improve access.

22/23/24 March 2022

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced inspection at Islington House Medical Centre on 22/23/24 March 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as Good.

The ratings for each key question are as follows:

Safe - Good

Effective - Good

Caring - Good

Responsive - Good

Well-led - Good

How we carried out the inspection

Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections/reviews differently.

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.

This included:

  • Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing
  • Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system and discussing findings with the provider
  • Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider
  • Requesting evidence from the provider
  • A practice site visit

We undertook this inspection at the same time as CQC inspected a range of urgent and emergency care services in Liverpool. To understand the experience of GP Providers and people who use GP services, we asked a range of questions in relation to urgent and emergency care. The responses we received have been used to inform and support system wide feedback.

Our findings

We 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.

We found that:

  • The practice had clear systems, practices and processes to keep people safe and safeguarded from abuse.
  • Recruitment checks were carried out in accordance with regulations (including for agency staff and locums).
  • Effective measures were put in place to minimise the risk presented by the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • Arrangements for identifying, recording and managing risks, issues and mitigating actions were in place.
  • Patients’ needs were assessed, and care and treatment were delivered in line with current legislation, standards and evidence-based guidance, supported by clear pathways and tools.
  • Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care, support and treatment.
  • We found that leaders were compassionate, inclusive and effective and staff we spoke with told us they were visible, approachable and supportive. We heard there was a strong emphasis on the safety and well-being of staff, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • The practice had systems in place to continue to deliver services, respond to risk and meet patients’ needs during the Covid-19 pandemic
  • The practice did not have an active Patient Participation Group at the time of inspection. Patient views were collated across the pandemic via the Friends and Family survey.
  • The way the practice was led, and management promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care. The service demonstrated a culture which focused on the needs of patients and commitment to driving improvement.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

  • Review the prescribing competence of non-medical prescribers.
  • Continue to monitor and improve the uptake of the practice cervical screening programme and children’s vaccination uptake.
  • Review the records of ‘do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation’ (DNACPR) conversations and decisions agreed with patients to ensure they are comprehensive and up to date.
  • The clinical search results showed the practice should improve the systems in place to ensure that medicine reviews were taking place as required.

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