Helsby Health Centre Also known as The Helsby & Elton Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Helsby Health Centre on 31 August 2016.

Overall the practice is rated as requires improvement.

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

• There were systems in place to reduce risks to patient safety, for example, medication management and the management of staffing levels. Improvements were needed to the records of recruitment to demonstrate the suitability of staff employed. Improvements were also needed to the management of health and safety at the premises.

• Staff spoken with understood their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.

• Staff told us they felt supported. The system for identifying the training needs of staff and ensuring that all staff undertook the training they required needed improvement.

• Patients were positive about the care and treatment they received from the practice. The National GP Patient Survey January 2016 showed that patients’ responses about whether they were treated with respect, compassion and involved in decisions about their care and treatment were overall comparable to local and national averages.

• Services were planned and delivered to take into account the needs of different patient groups.

• The National GP Patient Survey results showed that patient’s satisfaction with access to care and treatment was in line with local and national averages.

• Information about how to complain was available. There was a system in place to manage complaints.

• There were systems in place to monitor and improve quality and identify risk. However, improvements were need to the governance systems to ensure the premises were safe, staff were safely recruited and had received the training they required for their roles.

There were areas of practice where the provider must make improvements:

• The provider must ensure the premises are safely maintained.

• The provider must improve their governance systems to ensure that the required recruitment information is obtained prior to the employment of staff to confirm their suitability.

• The provider must improve their governance systems to ensure all staff undertake the training they require for their roles.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• A record should be made of the action taken following receipt of patient safety alerts.
• The system for recording when children do not attend for appointments should be improved.
• A review of the most recent infection control audit should be carried out to identify that actions taken have been effective and to assess which actions remain outstanding.

• A documented risk assessment should be put in place to demonstrate why a Disclosure and Barring (DBS) check is not required for staff who act as chaperones.

• A review of the storage of emergency medication should take place to ensure accessibility.

• A system should be put in place to record the receipt and allocation of printable prescriptions.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice