Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Drs T.A. Underwood and V.A. Pizura on 25 May 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.
- 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.
- Most 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 GP appointments, although there could be a delay before seeing a named GP. Urgent appointments were available on the same day.
- The practice had good facilities and was 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 two areas of outstanding practice:
- The practice provided a ‘reversing diabetes’ programme. Patients with type 2 diabetes were supported to manage their condition through weight loss and diet and reduce reliance on medicine. 103 patients had participated in the programme and 37 of these had three years of follow-up study. 59% of the patients who had three years follow up had experienced improvement in diabetes. 12 patients managed diabetes through diet alone and no medicine and 10 patients were prediabetic or non diabetic.
- The practice website provided comprehensive information for patients with a wide variety of health and emotional needs. GPs used the website as an educational resource and referred patients to this during consultations to direct patients to relevant services. The website included information about technology that patients could use to promote a healthy lifestyle.
The areas where the provider should make improvement are:
- Ensure that there are single versions of both the adult and child safeguarding policies available to staff.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice