Willington Surgery

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Willington Surgery on 3 November 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, and appropriately reviewed. Learning was applied from events to enhance future service delivery but this was not always cascaded widely.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. This was kept under review by the practice which used audit as a mechanism to ensure patients received safe and effective care.

• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed. Regular liaison meetings were held with the wider multi-disciplinary team to co-ordinate the provision of effective and responsive care and this included a care coordinator. The CCG pharmacist attached to the practice provided regular and effective support on medication issues and provided support for the nurse prescriber.

• Most of the practice team had received an annual appraisal and had undertaken training appropriate to their roles, with any further training needs identified and supported by the practice. Those who had not completed an appraisal had one planned within the practice’s agreed timescale

• Results from the national GP survey, and responses to our conversations with patients showed that patients were treated with compassion, dignity and respect, and that they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.

• Urgent appointments were available on the day they were requested. However, patients said that they sometimes had to wait a long time for non-urgent appointments.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management and motivated to deliver high quality care. However, there had been a delay in reviewing some policies as they were uploaded onto the new IT and data management system, but there were plans to rectify this within 6 months.

• The practice proactively sought feedback from patients, which it acted upon. For example, the practice undertook patient surveys and encouraged ongoing feedback via the use of a suggestion box. The practice implemented changes to the way it delivered services as a consequence of feedback from patients and from the Patient Participation Group (PPG) who were proactive and met regularly.

• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. Complaints were followed up but learning was not always cascaded widely.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour

However, the practice should

Implement systems to ensure appraisals are completed within agreed timescales and recorded as such.

Review the arrangements for cascading learning from significant events to try and prevent recurrence.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice