The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

The Cornerstone Practice Also known as Cornerstone Practice

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Shadsworth Surgery, Shadsworth Road, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB1 2HR (01254) 665664

Provided and run by:
The Cornerstone Practice

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

We carried out a review of the data available to us about The Cornerstone 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 Cornerstone Practice, you can give feedback on this service.

28/08/2019

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive follow up inspection at The Cornerstone Practice on 28 August 2019. We undertook this inspection following an inspection in December 2018. At that time, we rated the service as Requires Improvement. We issued the provider with a requirement notice for a breach of regulation 17, good governance. The full report from our December 2018 inspection visit can be found here www.cqc.org.uk

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

  • what we found when we inspected
  • information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as good overall and good for all population groups.

We found that:

  • The practice had made improvements in the way they did pre-employment checks.
  • Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
  • The practice had made improvements to their quality assurance systems.
  • Patients commented that staff were caring, kind and professional.
  • Staff were well trained and competent in the delivery of good patient care.
  • The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

  • Continue to develop a supervision and monitoring system for non-medical prescribers.
  • Improve systems to ensure emergency medicines are readily available.
  • Ensure that appraisals for staff are carried out in a timely manner.
  • Continue to develop a formal strategic plan for the practice.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care

05 December to 05 December 2018

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Cornerstone Practice on 5 December 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

  • what we found when we inspected
  • information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as requires improvement overall and good for all population groups.

We found that:

  • There were gaps in the practice’s governance arrangements resulting in risk management processes not being comprehensive, for example in respect of training oversight.
  • Staff found it difficult to locate some key practice policy documents. We found some policies lacked sufficient detail to appropriately describe the process to which they related.
  • The practice had systems to identify and investigate safety incidents so that they were less likely to happen again. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
  • Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
  • Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
  • The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
  • The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
  • Staff told us of a strong team ethos at the practice and that they felt supported by the partners and management.
  • The practice had implemented a programme of quality improvement work which included clinical audit. We saw examples of audit work resulting in improvements to patient outcomes.
  • The practice proactively engaged with other services and stakeholders and worked to improve services available to patients locally.

The areas where the provider must make improvements as they are in breach of regulations are:

  • Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

  • Formalise methods of gaining assurance that staff working in advanced roles are doing so within their competencies.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

19 November 2014

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This is the report of findings from our inspection of Dr AJM Murdoch’s Practice.

We carried out a comprehensive inspection on 19 November 2014. We spoke with patients, members of the patient participation group and staff, including the management team.

The practice was rated as good overall.

Our key findings were as follows:

  • All staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. All opportunities for learning from internal incidents were maximised to support improvement.
  • The practice was proactive in using methods to improve patient outcomes. Best practice guidelines were referenced and used routinely. Patients’ needs were assessed and care planned and delivered in line with current legislation.
  • Feedback from patients was consistently positive. We observed a patient centred culture and found strong evidence that staff were motivated and inspired to provide kind and compassionate care. They worked hard to overcome obstacles to achieving this.
  • The practice reviewed the needs of their local population and had initiated positive service improvements for patients that were over and above their contractual obligations. They implemented suggestions for improvements as a consequence of feedback from the patient participation group.
  • The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as top priorities. High standards were promoted and owned by all practice staff with evidence of team working across all roles. There was a strong governance structure in place. The leadership culture was open and transparent. The practice had a clear understanding and commitment to the needs of staff. We found high levels of staff satisfaction.
  • The quantity and quality of audits completed by the practice over the last year. The clinical audits we reviewed were very comprehensive and to a high standard. We saw that a number of non-clinical audits had also been completed.

We saw several areas of outstanding practice including:

  • The practice adopted a wide definition of hard to reach groups and had devised and implemented a strategy in relation to each. Identified groups included people from lower socio economic groups, homeless people, lone pensioners and teenagers.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice