We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Hamstreet Surgery on 10 October 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as Good.
Safe - Good
Effective - Good
Caring - Good
Responsive - Good
Well-led - Good
Following our previous inspection on 21 September 2016, the practice was rated Outstanding overall and for caring, responsive and well-led and Good for safe and effective services.
At the last inspection in September 2016 we rated the practice as outstanding for providing caring, responsive and well-led services.
- Data from the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) showed patient outcomes were at or above average compared to the national average.
- The practice had developed a wide range of other services for patients. The practice objective was to place the patients at the heart of the services, rather than the patients being sent round the health care system to access the services.
- The practice had a clear vision and strategy to deliver high quality care and promote good outcomes for patients. Staff were clear about the vision and their responsibilities in relation to it.
At this inspection, we found that those areas previously regarded as outstanding practice were now embedded throughout the majority of GP practices. While the provider had maintained this good practice, the threshold to achieve an outstanding rating had not been reached. The practice is therefore now rated good for caring, responsive and well-led services.
The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Hamstreet Surgery on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Why we carried out this inspection
We carried out this comprehensive inspection as the practice had not been inspected since September 2016. This inspection was conducted 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.
How we carried out the inspection
This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site.
This included:
- Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
- Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system (this was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements).
- Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider.
- Requesting evidence from the provider.
- A short site visit.
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 found that:
- Staff were consistent in supporting people to live healthier lives through a targeted and proactive approach to health promotion and prevention of ill-health, and every contact with people is used to do so.
- The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
- Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
- Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
- Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
- The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.
The area where the provider should make improvements are:
- Continue to ensure that all qualified dispensary staff are competency assessed around the use of split packs
- Continue to monitor and review their actions in relation to the management of patients prescribed high risk medicines, for example, (ACE) inhibitors (used primarily for the treatment of high blood pressure and heart failure).
- Continue to monitor and improve the practice’s system for acting on Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory (MHRA) safety alerts to help ensure processes are being followed and embedded.
We saw several areas of outstanding practice:
- The practice had a Caring for Veterans and their families protocol/policy. Information on what was available to veterans was shared with all staff and listed in this policy, for example, organisations to direct them to for support and where to write for service/medical records.
- The practice had a GP with a special interest (GPSI) in cardiology who was 1 of 4 cardiology GPSI’s and saw patients from all over the Ashford area not just the Primary Care Network. All their clinics, bookings and administration took place in the surgery. This reduced referrals to secondary care making it more cost effective, shorter waiting times and more convenient to the patient (less travel, more local, free parking).
Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.
Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA
Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services