Archived: Madeira Medical Centre

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Madeira Medical Centre on 3 June 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing effective, caring, responsive and well-led services. The practice was rated as requires improvement for providing safe services. It was rated good at providing services for the population groups of older people, people with long-term conditions, families, children and young people, working age people (including those recently retired and students), people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable and people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

Our key findings were as follows:

• Staff understood their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents.
• The practice had systems in place to safeguard patients, this included staff training in safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.
• The practice had implemented suggestions and made changes to the way that it delivered services as a result of feedback from patients and the Patient Participation Group.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• The practice achieved 99.4% of the total quality target in 2014, which was above the national average of 94.2%.

However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

Importantly, the provider must:

• Ensure that nurses, healthcare assistants and reception staff who provide chaperone duties are subject to appropriate checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service.
• Ensure that appropriate and documented checks are completed for the management of legionella in accordance with the practice risk assessment.

In addition the provider should:

• Ensure fridges can be locked for the storage of medicines.
• Ensure disposal of expired placebo medicines and suture equipment
• Record and produce minutes of all meetings held.
• Keep accurate training records and ensure that all staff receive training updates when required such as for Mental Capacity Act and Information Governance .
• Complete and document an analysis of complaints to identify trends.
• Review access to the practice to meet contractual requirements and patients expectations such as on weekdays between the hours of 8am and 8.30am and 6pm until 6.30pm.
• Ensure that cupboards that store Chemicals or Substances Hazardous to Health are locked.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice