Archived: Bank House Surgery

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Bank House Surgery on 4 October 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.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.

• Verbal consent was obtained and recorded in patients records. However, written consent was not obtained for procedures such as the insertion of an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD).

• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance.
• Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• 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 with a named GP and there was continuity of care with urgent appointments available the same day.
• 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.

We saw an area of outstanding practice:

• The practice had introduced a new initiative where the Practice Nurse attended an annual late afternoon tea with the clients in three local residential care homes for patients with learning difficulties. After tea, the nurse conducted the annual review for patients and administered injections such as the flu vaccination. This initiative enabled the practice to get a holistic picture of their patients in their home environment; helped to build relationships and reduced the anxiety of the patients. It also overcomes problems such as arranging transport to appointments, carers being taken away from the home on escort duty and patients missing attendance at day centres.

There were areas where the provider should make improvements:

• The provider should obtain written consent from patients prior to carrying out procedures such as the insertion of an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD).

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice