We carried out an announced inspection at Queensway Medical Centre on 31 May 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as Good.
The key question ratings are as follows:
Safe - Good
Effective – Good
Caring – Good
Responsive – Good
Well-led – Good
Following our previous inspection on 20 June 2016, the practice was rated good overall and for all key questions except for the responsive key question which was rated outstanding.
The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Queensway Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we carried out this inspection
This inspection was a comprehensive inspection to check the provider was complying with the regulations under the Health and Social Care Act 2008. We inspected all five key questions to determine if the service is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.
How we carried out the inspection
Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.
This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.
This included:
- Conducting staff interviews remotely using video conferencing;
- Speaking with the PPG chair remotely via the telephone;
- Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system and discussing findings with the provider;
- Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider;
- Requesting evidence from the provider for remote analysis;
- A shorter site visit;
- Further communications for clarification.
Our findings
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;
• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.
We have rated this practice as Good overall
We found that:
- Practice leaders engaged positively in the inspection process and staff provided positive feedback on their experience of working at the practice;
- The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of person-centre care;
- Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs however the monitoring of high-risk medicines was in need of review for some patients;
- The practice was actively engaged in quality improvement and clinical audit activities and had identified areas for development to ensure continuous improvement;
- The practice adjusted how it delivered services to meet the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic;
- Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way subject to the available resources of the practice;
- Recruitment records sampled confirmed staff had been recruited in accordance with legal requirements;
- Emergency equipment and medicines were in place to ensure an appropriate response to a medical emergency;
We found one outstanding feature:
- The provider was committed to contributing to the local healthcare economy and improving outcomes for patients. It had engaged in several areas of quality improvement activity which had resulted in reduced onward referrals to secondary care as well as initiating an alert system to improve care for patients nearing the end of life which had been adopted across the CCG patch.
Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:
- Review the management of patients prescribed high-risk drugs to ensure monitoring is being completed in accordance with recommended best practice guidelines;
- Provide complainants with a written response to their complaints when appropriate;
- Continue to support staff to complete outstanding training as identified on practice training records;
- Rectify maintenance and refurbishment issues within the premises.
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