Archived: Dr Kebalanandha Ramamurthie Naidoo Also known as The Family Surgery Ltd

Updated 10 September 2015

Dr Kebalanandha Ramamurthie Naidoo’s practice (also known as the Family Surgery) is located in a residential area of Birkdale. There were 4,116 patients on the practice list and the majority of patients were of white British background. The practice manager told us there were a higher proportion of children on the patient list compared with other practices in the area.

The practice is a training practice managed by a principal GP (male) with two GP assistants, and trainee GPs. There is one practice nurse, a practice manager, reception and administration staff. The practice is open 8am to 6.30pm Tuesday, Thursday and Friday with extended hours on a Monday and Wednesday until 8.30pm. Patients requiring a GP outside of normal working hours are advised to contact the GP out of hours service provided by GTD Healthcare.

The practice has a Personal Medical Service (PMS) contract and also offers enhanced services for example; extended hours.

Updated 10 September 2015

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Kebalanandha Ramamurthie Naidoo’s practice (also known as the Family Surgery) on 15 July 2015.

Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Urgent appointments were available the same day but not necessarily with a GP of their choice.
• The practice had good facilities including disabled access and was planning to install a lift to improve access to first floor consulting rooms.
• Information about services and how to complain was available. The practice sought patient views about improvements that could be made to the service, including having a patient participation group (PPG).
• The practice proactively sought to educate their patients to manage their medical conditions and improve their lifestyles by having additional in house services available. These included visiting healthcare professionals such as a physiotherapist and dietician.
• There were systems in place to reduce risks to patient safety for example, infection control procedures.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles.
• The practice made good use of audits and had shared information from one of their audits with other practices to promote better patient outcomes.

However there were areas where the provider should make improvements.

Importantly the provider should:

• Consider reviewing patient feedback from other external sources.
• Ensure there is a monitoring system for the use of prescriptions used for home visits.
• Carry out regular fire drills.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 10 September 2015

The practice is rated good for the care of people with long-term conditions. These patients had a six monthly review with either the GP and/or the nurse to check that their health and medication. Patients were encouraged to manage their conditions and were referred to health education and other in-house services such as a dietician.

Updated 10 September 2015

The practice is rated good for the care of families, children and young people. There were systems in place to identify and follow up children living in disadvantaged circumstances and who were at risk, for example, children and young people who had a high number of A&E attendances. The practice met with a health visitor on a weekly basis to discuss any safeguarding issues as well as those children who had long term conditions. Immunisation rates were high for all standard childhood immunisations. The practice is part of a pilot scheme to prevent any unnecessary hospital admissions for children.

Updated 10 September 2015

The practice is rated good for the care of older people. The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population and offered home visits, even out of hours, if necessary as well as rapid access appointments for those with enhanced needs. The practice had daily contact with district nurses and participated in weekly meetings with other healthcare professionals to discuss any concerns.

Updated 10 September 2015

The practice is rated good for the care of working-age people (including those recently retired and students). The needs of this population group had been identified and the practice had adjusted the services it offered to ensure these were accessible. For example, the practice offered a ‘Commuter’s Clinic’ on Monday and Wednesday evenings until 8.30pm for those people who could not attend during normal opening hours. The practice also offered online services as well as a full range of health promotion and screening that reflected the needs for this age group.

Updated 10 September 2015

The practice is rated good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia). All patients experiencing poor mental health had received an annual physical health check. The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of people experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia. It carried out advance care planning for patients with dementia.

Updated 10 September 2015

The practice is rated good for the care of people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances including those with a learning disability. It had carried out annual health checks and longer appointments were available for people with a learning disability. Staff had been trained to recognise signs of abuse in vulnerable adults and children. Staff were aware of their responsibilities regarding information sharing, documentation of safeguarding concerns and how to contact relevant agencies.