Archived: The Hill General Practice & Urgent Care Centre

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Hill General Practice and Urgent Care Centre on 20 December 2016. Overall the practice is rated as requires improvement.

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

• There were clearly defined processes and procedures to ensure patients were safe and an effective system was in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority. This was regularly reviewed and discussed with staff.
• Patients said they were treated with dignity, respect and compassion. Patients were involved with decisions about their care and treatment.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care delivered in line with current guidelines. Staff had the appropriate skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Appropriate procedures were followed for patients who used the urgent care facility, for example, to ask them for written details of medicines they were taking, allergies they might have and to obtain consent to share information with the GP practice they were registered with.
• Urgent same day appointments for patients registered with the practice were available when needed. Patients we spoke with and those who completed comment cards before our inspection said they were always able to obtain same day appointments.
• Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Patients said GPs gave them enough time and treated them with dignity and respect.

We saw the following areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice proactively identified patients who were carers, particularly ‘hidden’ carers who cared for family members. There were approximately 500 patients who were registered as carers (11% of the patient list). The practice subsequently provided them with support, for example, a monthly carer’s forum and coffee morning. Carers were signposted to appropriate local organisations and community groups for support, for example for advice and assistance with benefits. Dedicated appointments were also available to allow carers flexibility to bring in patients after working hours.

However there were areas of practice where the provider should make improvements:

• Continue to identify and monitor areas for improvement to improve patient satisfaction.

• Encourage patients to take part in the national programmes for cervical, bowel and breast cancer screening.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice