Archived: Oswald Road Medical Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Oswald Road Medical Practice on 25 August 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Please note that when referring to information throughout this report, for example, any reference to the Quality and Outcomes Framework data, this relates to the most recent information available to the CQC at that time.

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, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed, and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.

• Prescriptions were not stored or managed securely and out of date emergency medicines were in stock.

• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and further training was being planned. Staff training records were not up to date.

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect, and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatments.
• Information about how to make a complaint was in place, although not displayed in the patient waiting area.
• Arrangements were in place to safeguard adults and children from abuse. Staff were trained in safeguarding and understood their responsibilities with regard to reporting concerns.
• The practice offered a variety of pre-bookable appointments, although the practice manager recognised that the system needed updating.

• Overall patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP with urgent appointments available the same day.
• The practice shared information appropriately with other providers, such as out of hours care providers, to ensure continuity of care for patients.

• Patients with conditions such as diabetes and asthma attended regular clinics to ensure their conditions were appropriately monitored.

• The infection control audit highlighted a number of areas of concern. Action was being taken to address these issues.

• There was a leadership structure in place and staff felt supported by management. The practice had not proactively sought feedback from patients about their views on the service.

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

Importantly, the provider must:

• Improve the system for managing prescriptions and emergency medicines.

In addition the provider should:

• Provide patients with information about who they should contact if they have a concern about the safety of a child or another adult.
• Inform patients about the chaperone service.
• Provide appropriate staff with training in basic life support skills.
• Improve the appointment system so that patients can access appointments easily.
• Ensure the complaint procedure is easily available to the patients.
• Seek feedback from patients about their views of the service.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice