We carried out a review of the data available to us about Ribbleton Medical Centre 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 Ribbleton Medical Centre, you can give feedback on this service.
This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection 8 April 2015 – Good)
The key questions are rated as:
Are services safe? – Good
Are services effective? – Good
Are services caring? – Good
Are services responsive? – Good
Are services well-led? - Good
As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:
Older People – Good
People with long-term conditions – Good
Families, children and young people – Good
Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good
People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good
People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Ribbleton Medical Centre on 2 November 2017 as part of our inspection programme to inspect 10% of practices before April 2018 that were rated Good in our previous inspection programme.
At this inspection we found:
The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes. There was evidence that incidents were not always shared effectively with staff and the practice was working to improve this.
The practice conducted safety risk assessments and staff recruitment processes were comprehensive. However, there were no occupational health checks undertaken for new staff to assess that working conditions were appropriate. Staff told us that these would be introduced in the future.
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.
When GPs were very busy, they asked staff to work to a practice protocol to process some normal patient test results without sight of a GP. This protocol was comprehensive but there was no audit of its use to ensure that it was followed correctly.
Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
When patients reported problems in accessing the appointment system the practice worked to resolve these and had introduced a new telephone system. They had recruited an advanced nurse practitioner to improve access to clinicians from January 2018.
There was a proactive approach to managing the skill mix of staff needed to provide best care to patients. Staff felt respected, valued and supported.
Quality improvement issues were discussed in regular staff meetings. Clinical matters were discussed in weekly meetings although there were no formal minutes kept for these meetings.
There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
Continue to develop a system to allow better communication of safety incidents to all staff and to record and share clinical discussion.
Introduce occupational health screening for new staff to assess whether working conditions are appropriate.
Introduce an audit process to ensure that the practice protocol for staff filing patient test results has been followed correctly.
Take steps to better identify patients on the practice list who are also carers.
Chief Inspector of General Practice
We had previously undertaken an inspection at this practice in July 2014 as part of our pilot inspections testing our new methodology. We found one area for improvement and we issued a compliance action in relation to this at that time.
We carried out an inspection of Ribbleton Medical Centre on 8 April 2015 as part of our new comprehensive inspection programme and to determine the actions taken since the last inspection.
Overall the practice is rated as Good.
Our key findings were as follows:
However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements
The provider should:
Chief Inspector of General Practice
Ribbleton Medical Centre operates from a converted detached building within the Ribbleton area of Preston. There are four practice General Practitioner (GP) partners and a salaried GP working with practice staff serving a population size of approximately 7,949 people. The practice has high levels of deprivation with Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) score of 1 which is the most deprived.
The practice is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide the regulated activities diagnostic and screening procedures, family planning, maternity and midwifery services, surgical procedures and treatment of disease, disorder or injury.
The practice has a culture of patient safety and awareness. Staff are encouraged to be proactive in learning from incidents and taking ownership when things didn’t go as planned and incidents occurred. The practice is providing an effective service for their local population. Care and treatment is considered in line with current published guidelines and best practice all of which are available to staff on the practice intranet.
Throughout our inspection we observed good compassionate care where patients are given time and support during their appointment. We observed how the whole team are responding to both the clinical and non-clinical needs of their patients. We found the practice to be a responsive practice in particular in terms of patient access and in listening to patient feedback. Each of the population groups we reviewed during the inspection received a good service from the practice.
The practice does not ensure that safe and effective staff pre employment checks are in place to ensure patient safety and welfare. Robust recruitment processes are not in place for staff working with children and or vulnerable adults. We found the practice had recruited a new staff member without undertaking previous references, employment history and professional fitness checks. We found also that appropriate Disclosure and Barring Systems (DBS) and Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure (CRB) checks are sought prior to commencement of work at the practice.