The Care Quality Commission
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  • GP practice

Fairfax Group Practice

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Prestwich Health Centre, Fairfax Road, Prestwich, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M25 1BT (0161) 773 2483

Provided and run by:
Fairfax Group Practice

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

We carried out a review of the data available to us about Fairfax Group Practice 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 Fairfax Group Practice, you can give feedback on this service.

17 January 2017

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Fairfax Group Practice on 8 March 2016. The overall rating for the practice was requires improvement. The practice had not ensured Disclosing and Barring Scheme checks were carried out for staff who act as chaperones and staff were not provided with an appraisal of their work. Information about patients was not stored securely and prescriptions were not well managed. Within an agreed timescales the practice submitted an action plan which demonstrated they are now meeting the requirement notices from this inspection. The full comprehensive report on the 8 March 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Fairfax Group Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection at Fairfax Group Practice on 17 January 2017. Overall the practice is now rated as good.

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

  • There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events, although they were not reviewed annually to identify any themes.
  • Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
  • Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
  • Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
  • The practice had good facilities and 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.
  • The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of  the duty of candour.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

  • The safeguarding policy needs to be updated to reflect current guidance.
  • Staff should ensure READ coding is completed accurately.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

8 March 2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Fairfax Group Practice on 8 March 2016. Overall the practice is rated as requires improvement.

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

  • There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
  • Risks to patients were not always assessed and well managed. Issues arose in relation to the management of prescriptions.
  • Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance.
  • Staff had skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment, although it was not possible to accurately assess the training staff had completed due to lack of training records.
  • The practice had a number of policies and procedures to govern activity.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Most patients we spoke with told us they that they were able to get appointments when they needed them, although a number of patients said they found it difficult to get through to the practice by phone to book an appointment.
  • There was a leadership structure in place and staff told us they felt supported by management.
  • Although clinical audits had been carried out, they were not completed in a systematic way to reflect patients’ needs.
  • There was a virtual PPG with more than 500 members.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

19 December 2013

During a routine inspection

We saw that patients could book appointments up to a week in advance. Patients who requested an 'on the day' appointment had an initial telephone appointment and were given a consultation appointment if required. Drugs and equipment for use in a medical emergency were available and ready for use. All staff had received training in basic life support.

All areas of the practice appeared visibly clean. Informal checks were carried out daily to make sure cleaning was to the required standard. An in-depth infection control audit had also been carried out.

The practice followed a recruitment process when all new staff were recruited. All appropriate checks had been carried out prior to a staff member starting work.

The practice carried out patient surveys and quality audits. We saw that where improvements could be made action plans were put in place.

The patients we spoke with told us they sometimes had difficulty accessing appointments at times that were convenient to them. Most of their other comments were positive. These included 'If it's an emergency they'll always see you', 'Absolutely smashing' and 'I love these doctors'.