The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Veor Surgery

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

South Terrace, Camborne, Cornwall, TR14 8SN (01209) 611199

Provided and run by:
Veor Surgery

All Inspections

05 June 2023

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out an announced focused inspection at Veor Surgery on 5 June 2023. Overall, the practice is rated as requires improvement.

Safe - requires improvement

Effective - requires improvement

Caring - rating of good carried forward from previous inspection

Responsive - good

Well-led - requires improvement

Following our previous inspection on 9 December 2021, the practice was rated good overall and for all key questions.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Veor Surgery on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

We carried out this inspection to follow up concerns concerns reported to us. During the inspection we reviewed the safe, effective, responsive and well led key questions.

How we carried out the inspection

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site.

This included:

  • Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
  • Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system (this was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements).
  • Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider.
  • Requesting evidence from the provider.
  • A short site visit.

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 and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We found that:

  • There were inconsistencies in the systems and processes to ensure infection prevention and control was managed safely.
  • There was a backlog of patient records waiting for summarisation.
  • Patient information stored in the electronic clinical system had not been appropriately actioned or filed.
  • Medicine management procedures and systems had not been consistently followed to ensure the safety of the prescribing of medicines, stock control and security of prescriptions.
  • Patients had not received effective care and treatment that met their needs. Monitoring processes, and oversight of processes, had not been carried out appropriately to ensure patients were in receipt of effective correct care and treatment with the medicines prescribed to them or for their long term conditions. However, the practice had taken immediate action following the inspection to address these issues.
  • The provision of childhood immunisations did not meet national targets.
  • The provision of cervical screening for eligible women did not meet national targets
  • Not all processes for supporting staff were formalised and recorded.
  • Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
  • The way the practice was led and managed did not always promote the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care due to a lack of consistent oversight of systems and processes.

We found 1 breach of regulations. The provider must:

  • Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

The provider should:

  • The provider should take action so that information relating to the recruitment checks and all training undertaken by staff is retained and available at all times.
  • The provider should implement a system so that checks of emergency equipment were detailed and accurate.
  • The provider should continue to embed the auditing process of medicine prescribing by non medical prescribers.
  • The provider should develop the system for recording significant events and the associated action plans.
  • The provider should improve the processes to demonstrate the support provided to staff.
  • The provider should take action to improve the recording of consent obtained from patients prior to the delivery of care and treatment.
  • The provider should take action to audit systems and processes to monitor and improve their performance.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Health Care

09 December 2021

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out an unannounced inspection at Veor Surgery on 9 December 2021. This inspection was focused on the management of access to appointments and therefore was not rated and ratings from the previous rated inspection remain.

Overall, the practice remains rated as Good

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Veor Surgery on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

This inspection was focused on the management of access to appointments in response to the system pressures seen in the NHS and the difficulties in accessing GP services.

How we carried out the inspection

The inspection was led by a CQC lead inspector and a second inspector who spoke with staff on site. The inspection included a site visit.

Interviews were carried out with the senior GP partner, the managing partner and the practice manager.

We found that:

  • People were able to access appointments in a timely way
  • The practice offered a range of appointment types
  • There were systems in place to support people who face communication and transportation barriers to access treatment
  • There were systems in place to monitor access to appointments and make improvements
  • There was a focus on meeting patient population needs including innovative ways to ensure support was provided those most vulnerable.

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

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out an inspection of Veor Surgery on 24 October 2019, following our annual review of the information available to us including information provided by the practice. Our review indicated that there may have been a significant change (either deterioration or improvement) to the quality of care provided since the last inspection.

This inspection focused on the following key questions:

  • Effective
  • Responsive
  • Well-led

Because of the assurance received from our review of information we carried forward the ratings for the following key questions:

  • Safe-Good
  • Caring-Good

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 and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as Good for providing Effective, Responsive and Well-led services.

We have rated all population groups as Good, with the exception of working age people which was rated as Requires Improvement.

We found that:

  • Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
  • The practice was able to demonstrate that staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles.
  • The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.
  • Services were tailored to meet the needs of individual patients. They were delivered in a flexible way that ensured choice and continuity of care.
  • There were innovative approaches to providing integrated person-centred care.
  • The practice had identified areas where there were gaps in provision locally and had taken steps to address them.
  • leadership, management and governance of the organisation assured the delivery of responsive, high-quality and person-centred care.
  • Leaders supported and encouraged learning, innovation and promoted an open and fair culture amongst their team.

We saw areas of Outstanding practice:

  • The practice set up a ‘Live Lively board’ in August 2018 aimed at improving social prescribing for patients. The board had identified community groups that would be beneficial for patients but not available locally. The practice had therefore provided social prescribing and clubs for patients as well as setting up a coffee shop in the patients’ waiting room, known as the ‘living room’, to reduce social isolation.
  • The practice had used a ‘Patient Activation Measure’ (PAM) tool to measure patients’ knowledge, skills and confidence patients engaging with social prescribing had in managing their own health and care. Results had showed improvements.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

  • Continue to promote uptake of cervical cancer screening.
  • Improve patient satisfaction regarding access to appointments.

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

21 February 2017

During an inspection looking at part of the service

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Perkins & Partners, also known as Veor Surgery, on 10 February 2015. The practice was rated as requires improvement for providing services that are Safe. We found there were inconsistent arrangements in how risks were assessed and managed. For example, relating to staff recruitment, training and appraisals, and the communication of actions following the receipt of medical safety alerts. The full comprehensive report of the inspection undertaken in February 2015 can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Dr Perkins & Partners on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This inspection was an announced focused inspection carried out on 21 February 2017 to confirm the practice had carried out their action plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulations identified at our previous inspection on 10 February 2015. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also additional improvements made since our last inspection.

Our key findings were as follows:

  • The Practice had completed appropriate recruitment checks when employing new staff and for existing staff members.

  • The practice ensured that alerts and new guidance was shared with staff and checks were in place to ensure relevant action was taken.

  • The practice recorded and communicated alerts and incidents appropriately and ensured learning was shared following significant events.

  • The practice had an overview of staff training and had implemented systems to ensure refresher training was completed when required.

  • All staff had received up to date appraisals.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

10 February 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at the Veor Surgery on 10 February 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

We found the practice to be good for providing responsive and effective and well led services. It was also good for providing services for older people, people with long term conditions, families, children and young people, working age people including those recently retired and students, people who were vulnerable and those experiencing poor mental health and those with dementia. However we found the service to require improvement in the safety domain.

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

  • Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded; however, there was no evidence of learning and communication with staff.
  • Risks to patients were assessed and well managed, with the exception of 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.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Urgent appointments were usually available on the day they were requested. However patients said that they sometimes had to wait a long time for non-urgent appointments.
  • 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 practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.

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

Importantly the provider must take

  • The provider must ensure that staff employed at the practice have the required employment checks.

And the provider should

  • Ensure all staff receive up to date appraisals.
  • The provider should ensure that when medical alerts were circulated to staff there were auditing systems in place to ensure that any actions had been taken.

Ensure training records on the computerised system are up to date.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice