Archived: St James's Surgery

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at St James's Surgery on 4 August 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, with the exception of fire escape signage not being clear.
• 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.
• 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 an appointment with a named GP and there was 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 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 areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice had initiated a walking group called “Walk away from Medicine”. GPs and other members of staff joined patients on a walk around the local area on the first Wednesday of each month. The practice reported that this had had a positive impact on the mental health of some patients, had strengthened links with their community and enhanced patient relationships.
• Receptionists from the practice had initiated and produced information packs for patients that could benefit from additional support to prevent potential medical problems related to social isolation. Examples of these included those new to the UK and newly retired men. The packs contained information such as social groups and activities in the local area as well as health and wellbeing information.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Ensure fire escape signage in the practice is clear for service users.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice