The Care Quality Commission
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Archived: Crossways Practice

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

168 Liverpool Road, Crosby, Liverpool, Merseyside, L23 0QW (0151) 293 0800

Provided and run by:
SSP Health Ltd

Important: This service was previously managed by a different provider - see old profile

All Inspections

19 May 2015 and 3 July 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This is the report from our announced comprehensive inspection of Crossways Practice on the 19 May and 3 July 2015.

We previously undertook a focused inspection at the practice in February 2015 in response to an issue of concern. We issued three Requirement Notices as a result of our findings and requested an action plan. A comprehensive inspection was then undertaken on 19 May 2015 when we could see that some improvements had been made. At the 19 May inspection the practice had not reached the final date for compliance against their action plan from the February inspection. We therefore carried out a further visit on 3 July 2016 to ensure the provider had met the Requirement Notices from February 2015. We are therefore reporting on both inspections within this one report.

Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

  • The provider had met the Requirement Notices and made improvements in quality assurance processes and supporting staff.
  • Following a period of instability in staffing arrangements, the practice had recruited a permanent nurse and a GP who started work in June 2015. The practice was in the process of recruiting a practice manager.
  • There were systems in place to mitigate safety risks including analysing significant events and safeguarding. Systems were in place to ensure medication including vaccines were appropriately stored and in date. The practice used a pharmacy advisor to ensure the practice was prescribing in line with current guidelines.
  • A Local Medical Director had been recently appointed to oversee the clinical governance of the practice and was proactively encouraging the use of clinical audits to ensure patients received treatment in line with best practice standards.
  • Patients had their needs assessed in line with current guidance and the practice had a holistic approach to patient care.
  • Feedback from patients and observations throughout our inspection highlighted the staff were kind, caring and helpful.
  • The practice was responsive and acted on patient written formal complaints.

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

The provider should:

  • Carry out a risk assessment to ascertain the need for a defibrillator for the practice.
  • Consider staff feedback, and then communicate to staff what actions will be taken and when, to address concerns raised.
  • Formulate a maintenance plan to improve the overall décor and fixtures and fittings within the practice identified in the external risk assessment carried out in March 2014.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

12 February 2015

During an inspection looking at part of the service

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This is the report from our inspection of Crossways Practice. Crossways Practice is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide primary care services and is managed by the provider SSP Health Ltd.

We undertook an unannounced focused inspection on the 12 February 2015 at Crossways Practice in response to concerns we had received regarding recruitment. This report only contains information around certain safety aspects of the practice. We reviewed information we held about the service and spoke with two regional managers, a GP and staff.

Our key findings were as follows:

  • The practice was relying heavily on locum GPs and agency nurses and did not have a manager on site on a daily basis to oversee the smooth running of the practice and supervision of staff. We could see that the practice had plans in place for a more permanent solution to staffing.
  • The practice had 20 different GP locums working at the practice since 1 January 2015 and agency nurses had only been employed for 15 days since October 2014 which was causing inconsistency and concerns about the safety of care offered to patients.
  • The practice had recruitment processes in place but ID checks for new staff entering the building were not always taking place.
  • The practice had an induction system in place for new locum GPs but this had not been implemented.

There were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

Importantly, the provider must:

  • Notify us of any significant incident as outlined in Regulation 18 of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009.
  • Ensure all members of staff receive a comprehensive induction that is relevant to their role and workplace before they are allowed to work unsupervised.
  • Ensure all staff are appropriately supervised and managed.
  • Ensure all staff understand and implement the policies and protocols in place which are designed to identify, assess and manage risks for the service.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice