Archived: North Park Health Centre

There were no checks in place to confirm what cleaning duties had been completed and to monitor if hygiene standards were being met. We noted hand gel and some soap dispensers were empty and the cleaning supplies cupboard was disorganised, with no clear instructions as to which materials were to be used in each area of the practice. We looked in the cupboards and storage units of the treatment rooms and found a number of single use instruments, sterile supplies and needles were out of date.

The practice currently had one day of a practice nurse and up to two days of a nurse prescriber each week. This meant there was an increased risk patients were not seen in a timely manner.The Registered Manager told us the three GP partners had not met to discuss staffing levels in the last 12 months and that they had been unable to agree funding to increase clinical and administration staffing to cover existing vacancies and absences.

We found the patient electronic records were incomplete and inaccurate.

We found improvements had been made in a number of areas. For example in how patients' views and experiences were taken into account in the way the service was provided. We also found the service had developed systems to identify the possibility of abuse, including providing training for staff. The practice had also improved their complaints system.

However, as previously found in July 2013 the practice was not meeting the required standards in three other areas. Although some improvements were found, we identified that further action was required in order to meet regulations. For example in how the practice recruited staff. We found omissions evident in the personnel files for five staff employed by the practice since our last inspection.

We also found the practice did not have suitable arrangements to ensure clinical staff received appropriate support and training through appraisals or supervision/ support meetings.

We found there was not an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of the service that patients receive. For example the GP told us there were no formal meetings to monitor how the practice was performing against the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) measures.

Patients we spoke with told us they had confidence in the doctor they knew well. However they often saw a variety of doctors who did not know their medical history.

The GP confirmed that until June 2013 there had been no designated safeguarding lead for the practice. They have now taken on this role however have not yet attended the level 3 training required. Staff had not received training regarding child protection or safeguarding vulnerable adults.

The practice did not have a recruitment policy in place and we found evidence of inconsistencies in the recruitment procedures carried out.

The practice did not have a formal system of support for staff to gain suitable skills to meet people's needs. We found no evidence of processes in place to ensure the regular appraisal or supervision of reception staff and the practice nurse.

There was no effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that patients received, for example regarding how complaints were dealt with.

Paper records for summarising, scanning and coding were not stored securely.