Archived: Cairngall Medical Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice was previously inspected as part of the new comprehensive inspection programme. An announced comprehensive inspection was carried out on 28 January 2015 resulting in an overall rating of requires improvement. The ratings for the safe and caring key questions were requires improvement and for the effective, responsive and well-led key questions the rating was good.

This was followed by a second announced comprehensive inspection on 1 February 2017. The overall rating for the practice at that inspection was good. The rating for the safe, caring, effective and well-led key questions was good and for the responsive key question the rating was requires improvement.

The full comprehensive reports for both inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Cairngall Medical Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This announced focused desk-based review was carried out on 23 August 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to make the improvements that we identified in our previous inspection on 1 February 2017. This report covers our findings and the improvements made by the practice since our last inspection.

Overall the practice remains rated as Good.

Our key findings at this inspection were as follows:

• In comparison with the previous years results (published in July 2016), data from the July 2017 national GP patient survey showed some improvement in relation to patient satisfaction rates related to accessing care and treatment at the surgery. However, results remained below the local and national averages.
• The practice had identified 95 patients as carers (1% of the practice list). The practice had previously only identified 30 patients as carers (0.3% of the practice list).
• All staff carrying out chaperone duties had received appropriate training for the role.

The areas where the provider should continue to make improvements are:

• The provider should continue to monitor satisfaction rates regarding how patients can access appointments to ensure improvements are identified and implemented where appropriate.

At our previous inspection on 1 February 2017 we rated the practice as requires improvement for providing responsive services as patient satisfaction in respect of access to services was below the local and national average. At this inspection we found that there was insufficient improvement in patient satisfaction rates. Consequently, the practice is still rated as requires improvement for providing responsive services.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Cairngall Medical Practice on 1 February 2017. Overall the practice is rated as good.

This practice was previously inspected as part of the new comprehensive inspection programme. An announced comprehensive inspection was carried out on 28 January 2015 resulting in an overall rating of Requires Improvement. The ratings for the safe and caring domains were Requires Improvement and for the effective, responsive and well-led domains the rating was Good.

On 1 February 2017 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 for reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• 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. However, not all staff carrying out chaperone duties had received formal training for this role.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were usually involved in decisions about their care and 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 difficult to make an appointment with a named GP and it was often difficult to book a routine appointment. However urgent appointments were available the same day through the morning walk-in service. Data from the national GP patient survey showed patients rated the practice below the local and national averages for how they could access care and treatment.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• The practice had identified only 30 patients as carers (0.3% of the practice list).
• 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.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• The provider should continue to monitor satisfaction rates regarding how patients  can access appointments to ensure improvements are identified and implemented where appropriate.
• The provider should review how patients with caring responsibilities are identified and recorded on the clinical system to ensure information, advice and support is made available to all carers registered with the practice.
• The provider should ensure that all staff are aware of and adhere to the requirements of the practice Chaperone Policy.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice