The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Whipton Surgery

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

378 Pinhoe Road, Exeter, Devon, EX4 8EG (01392) 462770

Provided and run by:
Whipton Surgery

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

We carried out a review of the data available to us about Whipton Surgery on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.

This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.

If you have concerns about Whipton Surgery, you can give feedback on this service.

13 September 2022

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced focused inspection at Whipton Surgery on 13 September 2022.

Overall, the practice is rated as Good.

Safe - Good

Effective - Good

Caring - Not inspected, rating of Good carried forward from a previous inspection (2018)

Responsive - Not inspected, rating of Outstanding carried forward from a previous inspection (2018)

Well-led - Good

Following our previous inspection on 31July 2018 the practice was rated Good overall.

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

Why we carried out this inspection

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good and Outstanding to test the reliability of our new monitoring approach.

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.
  • Staff questionnaires

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 was an open and transparent approach to safety and effective system for reporting and recording significant events.
  • The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
  • Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
  • Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
  • Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
  • The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.
  • 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, not all safety alerts issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) had been acted on by the service. We found there were low uptake rates (72.1%) for cervical screening which fell below the England average of 80%.

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

  • Ensure that there is a robust system in place to review and act on MHRA alerts .

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 Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services

21/05/2018

During a routine inspection

This practice is rated as good overall (outstanding in the responsive domain). (The previous inspection was in July 2015 where we rated the practice as good overall and outstanding in caring)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Outstanding

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive at Whipton Surgery on Monday 21 May 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

  • The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
  • Medicines were managed well at the practice and prescribing rates and patterns were kept under review to ensure safety.
  • The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
  • Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
  • Patients gave detailed positive feedback about the care and treatment they received. Results from the July 2017 national GP patient survey, friends and family test results, CQC comment cards and independent survey results were all positive. Of the 60 CQC comment cards we received and interviews with six patients, all were positive about the staff group, access, care and treatment received. There were no negative comments received.
  • Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
  • There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation. The practice continued to be a popular teaching and training practice, with all four partners registered as trainers.
  • Staff said the practice was a good place to work and added that the leadership team were supportive and encouraged career development and learning to help improve patient safety.
  • There was evidence of systems and processes for learning, continuous improvement and innovation. The practice had taken part in local pilots and research.
  • Networking continued to be a priority of leaders and staff to deliver safe, effective, caring and well led service. For example, the practice manager was the LMC (Local medical council) pastoral support officer and director of finance for the Exeter Primary care federation.

We saw an area of outstanding practice:

The practice nurse provided a complex wound dressing service and the clinical team had introduced a domiciliary visiting nursing service for patients whose needs did not meet the threshold of the community nursing teams. 82 home visits from the practice nurse in seven months had been completed to offer additional services including ECG (Heart tracing), nebuliser treatment, urgent blood tests and long term condition monitoring. The nurse had been runner up in the local 2018 Practice nurse of the year award for this service.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGPChief Inspector of General Practice

15/07/2015

During a routine inspection

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of Whipton Surgery on 15 July 2015. Overall, we rated the practice as good. Specifically, we found the practice to be outstanding for providing caring services and good for providing safe, responsive and effective and well led services.

It was also found to be providing good services across all the patient population groups with the exception of people with long term conditions who received outstanding care.

Our key findings were as follows:

  • Staff knew the patients who visited the practice regularly very well, and provided a holistic service which met their needs.
  • Feedback from patients was overwhelmingly positive; they told us staff treated them with respect and kindness.
  • Patients reported good access to the practice.
  • Patients we spoke with told us they felt they had sufficient time during their appointment to explain their health problem and discuss treatment options.
  • Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.
  • Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, reviewed and addressed, and was used to improve patient care.
  • The practice was clean and hygienic, and good infection control arrangements were in place.
  • There was a clear management structure with approachable leadership. Staff were supported and had opportunities for developing their skills, were well supported and had good training opportunities.
  • The practice actively sought feedback from patients and had taken action as a result of what patients had said.

We saw areas of outstanding practice including:

  • Twice weekly the practice nurse had protected time to visit patients with long term conditions in their own homes, to undertake their annual health review. This enabled patients to be realistically assessed in their own surroundings; reducing the stress, strain and risk of exacerbating their illness by visiting the practice.
  • Reception staff were trained to undertake some health checks for patients and were able to provide a flexible service. Staff said they enjoyed the challenge of new learning and were enthusiastic to provide patients with a good service
  • The practice nurse performed complex leg ulcer dressings in the practice following extended training. This meant patients were able to receive this complex treatment at the practice avoiding the need to attend the community leg ulcer clinic on the other side of the city. This service was over and above what was expected from the practice in the GP contract and had improved outcomes for patients.
  • A home nebuliser service was provided by the practice to help patients retain their independence at home. This was used when a patient known to have respiratory disease had exacerbated symptoms. The GP and nurse visited these patients at home and initiated nebuliser treatment, assessing their suitability to self-medicate using the nebuliser until their symptoms had improved.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice