We carried out a review of the data available to us about The Alton Practice on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about The Alton Practice, you can give feedback on this service.
We carried out an announced focused inspection at The Alton Practice on 08 August 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as Good:
Safe - Good
Effective - Good
Well-led - Good
Following our previous inspection on 5 May 2016, the practice was rated good overall and for all key questions.
The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Alton Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we carried out this inspection
We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good and Outstanding to test the reliability of our new monitoring approach.
How we carried out the inspection
Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.
This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.
This included:
Our findings
We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:
We have rated this practice as Good overall
We found that:
Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:
Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.
Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA
Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Alton Practice on 5 May 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.
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.
The areas where the provider should make improvement are:
Implement, monitor and review actions identified to improve care for patients with diabetes.
Review how patients with caring responsibilities are identified and recorded on the clinical system to ensure information, advice and support is made available to them.
Consider and implement ways to improve childhood immunisation performance.
Chief Inspector of General Practice