We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Ashbourne Medical Practice on 8 February 2019 as part of our inspection programme.
We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:
- what we found when we inspected
- information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
- information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.
We have rated this practice as good overall and good for all population groups.
We found that:
- Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
- Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
- The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
We rated the practice as Requires Improvement for providing safe services because:
- The practice building and environment was managed by the adjoining St Oswalds hospital however the practice did not always have the assurance that the building was fit for purpose.
- We found some systems ineffective at ensuring that medicines were in date and located in secure environments. We found bags of equipment and full sharps boxes which the practice were unaware of.
- The PGDs in use were not correctly signed.
- The practices system for monitoring the cold chain did not assure that medicines were kept in optimum conditions and fit for use.
- There were not always comprehensive risk assessments to ensure that the practice complied with health and safety or infection prevention and control purposes.
The areas where the provider must make improvements are:
- Ensure that care and treatment is provided in a safe way (Please see the specific details on action required at the end of this report).
In addition, the provider should:
- Review the practice's risk management systems for monitoring and mitigating the various risks arising from the undertaking of the regulated activities.
- Review the systems and processes for learning, continuous improvement and innovation.
Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice