Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Townhead Surgery on 30 June 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good for providing safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led care for all of the population groups it serves.
Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:
- The practice ethos and culture was to provide good quality service and care to patients.
- Patients told us they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were involved in care and decisions about their treatment.
- Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. A recognised tool was used to identify patients who were considered to be at risk of frailty.
- The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat and meet the needs of patients. Information regarding the services provided by the practice and how to make a complaint was readily available for patients.
- Patients we spoke with were positive about access to the service. They said they found it generally easy to make an appointment, there was continuity of care and urgent appointments were available on the same day as requested.
- The practice had a good understanding of, and complied with, the requirements of the duty of candour. (The duty of candour is a set of specific legal requirements that providers of services must follow when things go wrong with care and treatment.)
- The partners promoted a culture of openness and honesty, which was reflected in their approach to safety. All staff were encouraged and supported to record any incidents. There was evidence of good investigation, learning and sharing mechanisms in place.
- Risks to patients were assessed and well managed. There were safe and effective governance arrangements in place.
- There were comprehensive safeguarding systems in place; particularly around vulnerable children and adults.
- The practice sought patient views how improvements could be made to the service, through the use of patient surveys, the NHS Friends and Family Test and the patient participation group.
- There was a clear leadership structure, staff were aware of their roles and responsibilities and told us the GPs and manager were accessible and supportive.
- The GP partners were forward thinking, aware of future challenges to the practice and were open to innovative practice.
We saw two areas of outstanding practice:
- The practice had appointed a care co-ordinator to contact all patients immediately following discharge from an unplanned episode of hospital care. This intervention had supported people to get the right level of support in the community to avoid further admissions.
- The health of local farmers was pro-actively managed through a bespoke clinic to ensure that sufficient data was available to identify their health needs. As a result of the initiative health problems were identified and preventative medication, such as statins (drugs that reduce cholesterol in the blood) was commenced.
However there was one area of practice where the provider should make improvements:
- Maintain appropriate records when completing balance checks of controlled drugs.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice