All inspections: Shekar et al - Care Quality Commission

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection, 12 May 2015 the overall rating was Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Good

As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:

Older People – Good

People with long-term conditions – Good

Families, children and young people – Good

Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good

People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good

People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good

At this inspection we found:

The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. While there was evidence to demonstrate the practice staff had learned from incidents and changed their practices and improved their processes, there were some area that needed improvement. For example, in light of there being over 7,000 patients registered with the practice, there was a low number of significant events recorded. This meant that issues were possibly not being identified for the purpose of reviewing and improving the quality of the service.
The practice carried out regular clinical audits to review the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided and to ensure that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines. A plan of future audits was not in place and we found that clinical audits could be improved upon with more focus on patient outcomes.
Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
Staff were well supported and supervised.
Patient feedback about the service was overwhelmingly positive.
A member of the non-clinical staff acted as a cancer and carers champion.

Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of Shekar et Al on 12 May 2015. We found that the practice was rated as good overall.

Our key findings were as follows:

The practice is rated as good for safe. Staff understood their responsibilities to raise concerns, and report incidents and near misses. Lessons were learned and communicated widely to support improvement. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed. There were enough staff to keep people safe.

The practice is rated as good for effective. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance was referenced and used routinely. Patient’s needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered in line with current legislation. This included the promotion of good health. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and further training needs were identified and planned. The practice had an appraisal system in place for staff. Multidisciplinary working was evidenced.

The practice is rated as good for caring. Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in care and treatment decisions. Accessible information was provided to help patients understand the care available to them. We also saw that staff treated patients with kindness and respect ensuring confidentiality was maintained.

The practice is rated as good for responsive. The practice reviewed the needs of their local population and engaged with NHS England and the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to secure service improvements where these were identified. Patients reported good access to the practice and the GPs and 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 an accessible complaints system with evidence demonstrating that the practice responded quickly to issues raised.
The practice is rated as good for well-led. The practice had a clear vision and strategy to deliver this. There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice had a number of policies and procedures to govern activity. There were systems in place to monitor and improve quality and identify risk. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients and this had been acted upon. Staff had received inductions, appraisals and attended staff meetings. The practice had an active patient participation group (PPG).

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Archived: Shekar et al Also known as Minden Family Practices - Shekar Practice