The Queen Edith Medical Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of thi s practice on 10 May 2016. We set a requirement in relation to safe care and treatment. The practice sent in an action plan informing us about what they would do in relation to the area where they needed to improve;

• Healthcare assistants must have authorisation from a prescriber for each medicine or vaccination they administer.

During the initial inspection we also found other areas where improvements were required:

• Complete and review actions resulting from infection control audits in a timely manner and implement practice wide infection control training.
• Review the visibility in the waiting areas to ensure the safety and security of vulnerable patients.
• Identify carers more proactively.
• Undertake fire drills at the required intervals.
• Take more proactive steps to try and improve cervical cytology rates.
• Record and learn from all verbal complaints.

We undertook a desk based inspection on 29 November 2016 to make a judgement about whether their actions had addressed the area they needed to improve. Actions had been undertaken to address this area. The practice also told us the majority of the areas for improvement had been addressed and provided us with statements and/or evidence to demonstrate this.

The overall rating for the practice is good. You can read our previous report by selecting the ‘all reports' link for on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Queen Edith Medical Practice on 10 May 2016. Overall, the practice is rated as good.

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

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events and improvements were made following analysis of the significant events.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• 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, however not all verbal complaints were not recorded. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day. Appointments were bookable online and the practice also provided telephone appointments for patients unable to attend the surgery.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• 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.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

• The practice held an annual flu clinic and invited local support and health organisations to attend. This allowed patients to access support information and guidance easily and quickly. The practice engaged with the patient participation group to organise the event and took the opportunity to take pulse and blood pressure measurements in order to identify patients at risk of other healthcare conditions.

The areas where the provider must make improvement are:

• Healthcare assistants must have authorisation from a prescriber for each medicine or vaccination they administer.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Complete and review actions resulting from infection control audits in a timely manner and implement practice wide infection control training.

• Review the visibility in the waiting areas to ensure the safety and security of vulnerable patients.

• Identify carers more proactively.

• Undertake fire drills at the required intervals.

• Take more proactive steps to try and improve cervical cytology rates.

• Record and learn from all verbal complaints.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice