Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr O S Singh & Partners on 27 November 2014. Overall the practice is rated as good.
Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing effective, caring, responsive and well led services. It was also good for providing services to older people, people with long-term conditions, families, children and young people, as well as working age people (including those recently retired and students), people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable and people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia). The practice required improvement for providing safe services and the concerns which led to this rating applied to all population groups.
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, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
- Risks to patients were assessed and well managed, with the exception of those relating to some of the medicines kept at the practice.
- Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and further training needs had been identified and planned.
- 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.
- The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
- The practice was clean and there were systems to help ensure standards of hygiene were maintained.
- 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.
However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.
Importantly, the provider must:
- review the arrangements for the safe management of medicines kept at the practice - including how vaccines are stored, and the process for monitoring and checking expiry dates for all medicines, injections and medical equipment
- review the system used to monitor and record the pre-printed prescription pads issued to GPs, in accordance with national guidance.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice