Ailsa Craig Medical Centre

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Ailsa Craig Medical Practice on 13th August 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good. Specifically the practice were found to be good for effective, caring, responsive and well led services. They required improvement in safety.

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

• Understanding about how to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses was inconsistent among the staff. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, reviewed and addressed, but this was done in an informal way between clinical staff, and meetings were not minuted.
• Most risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Risk and management of areas associated with infection control, waste disposal and equipment checks required improvement.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• Data showed patient outcomes were at or above average for the locality.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• The practice were very responsive to the diverse needs of their population in particular with regard to cultural or religious practices which could have adverse reactions on the person’s health and wellbeing such as self management of diabetes.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• On Mondays and Fridays the practice opened at 7.30am and all the clinicians (including the nurse on a Friday) held surgeries where patients could be seen from 7.30am until 10.30am..
• The practice was equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management.

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

Importantly the provider must

• Maximise opportunities for learning by ensuring that all members of staff, clinical and non-clinical understand what constitutes an event of significance to be recorded and reported. These should include verbal comments and complaints received from patients which are otherwise dealt with at the time. Sharing and learning of these events should be formalised and include all members of staff.
• Review systems to manage medicines and infection control checks and ensure they are effective. Liaise with the local infection control team to ensure they are meeting the required standards of cleanliness and infection control.

In addition the provider should

• Ensure that all staff receive an annual appraisal and that training needs are identified.