Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
This is the report of findings from our inspection of The Stonebridge Practice. The practice is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide primary care services.
We carried out a comprehensive inspection on 4 November 2014. We spoke with patients, members of the patient participation group (PPG), and staff including the management team.
The practice is rated as good for providing a safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led service. The quality of care provided for the six population groups is rated as good. We gave the practice an overall rating of good.
Our key findings were as follows:
- Many aspects of the service were safe. Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. All opportunities for learning from internal and external incidents were maximised to support development.
- The practice was effective. The practice’s focus was on improving patient outcomes, and networked with other local providers to share best practice. They were proactive in health promotion, and raising patients’ awareness and understanding in chronic disease management.
- The practice was caring. Feedback from patients about their care and treatment was positive. There was a patient centred culture and strong evidence that staff were motivated to offer kind and compassionate care, working to overcome obstacles to achieve this.
- The practice responded to the needs of its patients, which were central to the planning and delivery of care. They had implemented suggestions for improvements as a result of feedback from patients and the patient participation group. There were many positive examples to demonstrate the changes made. For example, daily walk in clinics in addition to booked appointments had been implemented in response to feedback regarding the availability of appointments.
- The practice understood the needs of the local population and services were planned to ensure these needs were met. They were proactive in understanding the needs of patients with long term conditions, particularly diabetes. A weekly diabetic clinic was offered by a GP and nurse with specialist training in diabetic care, and other clinical staff had received training to detect and prevent unwanted outcomes for diabetic patients. The practice also recognised the benefit of supported learning for patients, and made referrals to self-management programmes and signposted patients to educational events in the local area.
- There was an active review of complaints and improvements were made as a result. Learning from complaints was shared with staff and the PPG.
- The practice offered extended opening hours three evenings a week from 18.30 to 19:30 to meet the needs of patients that worked. Text message reminders for appointments and practice updates were heavily utilised.
- The practice was well-led. They had clear vision with clinical excellence and quality of care as priorities. There was a strong focus on learning and training, and staff described a culture of openness and support.
However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.
The provider should:
- Provide relevant staff with chaperone training.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice