Archived: Fairstead Surgery

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Fairstead Surgery on 5 February 2015. The practice is led by the management team of Vida Healthcare who are the registered providers of Fairstead Surgery. There is a branch surgery located at St Augustine’s Surgery, Columbia Way, Kings Lynn, Norfolk.

Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing safe, effective, caring, responsive services and well led services. It was also good for providing services for the following population groups: older people; those with long term medical conditions; families, babies, children and young people; working age people and those recently retired; people in vulnerable circumstances who may have poor access to primary care; and people experiencing poor mental health. We found that care was tailored appropriately to the individual circumstances and needs of the patients in these groups.

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

• Patients told us they were treated with compassion, dignity, care and respect. They were involved in decisions about their care and treatment and were happy with the care that they received from the practice.

• The practice was friendly, caring and responsive. It addressed patients’ needs and worked in partnership with other health and social care services to deliver individualised care.

• The needs of patients were understood and services were offered to meet these.

• The practice effectively used the benefits of being part of Vida Healthcare whilst retaining the individuality of being a small practice.

• There were a number of clinical teams who specialised in different areas, in order to provide a focussed and effective service to patients.

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed, including those relating to recruitment checks.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• The practice 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.

However there were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

Importantly the provider should;

• Review storage and safety arrangements for all vaccines in the fridges.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice