The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

The Gables Medicentre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

268 Holbrook Lane, Coventry, West Midlands, CV6 4DD (024) 7668 8340

Provided and run by:
The Gables Medicentre

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

The Gables Medicentre is an NHS GP practice and delivers services to approximately 10,300 patients under a General Medical Services (GMS) contract with NHS England. The practice is located at Holbrook Lane, Coventry, CV6 4DD and has a branch site at Goodyers End Lane, Bedworth CV12 0HU. The service is within the Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care System (ICS). The National General Practice profiles states that 71% of the patient population are White, 17% Asian, 5% Black, 3% Mixed and 4% classified as Other. Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the third decile (3 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is compared to others.

We carried out an announced comprehensive assessment of all 5 key questions (Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-Led). This assessment was carried out to provide a rating and assess the quality of services being delivered. This practice was last assessed in July 2017 and was previously rated as good overall and good in all 5 key questions. For this assessment we carried out an interview with the lead GP using video conferencing and reviewed documents submitted as evidence. We completed searches remotely of the practice’s clinical system to review patient records and also undertook an on-site visit of the practice which included speaking with staff.

5 July 2017

During an inspection looking at part of the service

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Gables Medicentre on 19 October 2016. As a result of our inspection the practice was rated as good overall but required improvement for providing safe services. The full comprehensive report on the October 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Gables Medicentre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This inspection was a follow up focused inspection carried out on 5 July 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulations that we identified in our previous inspection on 19 October 2016. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also additional improvements made since our last inspection.

Overall the practice is now rated as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

  • The arrangements to ensure that risks to patients and staff were assessed and well managed met nationally recognised guidelines. For example, a defibrillator had been installed following the last inspection.
  • The monitoring of patients taking high risk medicines had been strengthened.
  • A log of risks identified was maintained, which included Visual Display Unit screening.
  • Risk assessments included Legionella. We were told that a fire risk assessment was scheduled to be carried out on 7 July 2017, and we subsequently received a copy of this risk assessment.
  • Improvements had been made to the telephone system, so that it was easier for patients to contact the practice by telephone, especially when trying to make an appointment. For example, calls were answered by staff in an office on the first floor, which meant that they were answered more quickly, because staff were not dealing with patients at the reception desk. GPs returned triage calls using their mobile phones instead of the landline, which freed up the telephone lines and patients had been encouraged to use the online system for booking routine appointments (51% of patients had signed up to use this service). Despite these changes, results from the the National GP Patient Survey results published on 7 July 2017 showed that only 48% of respondents found it easy to get through to the surgery by telephone.
  • A system had been introduced to check that current evidence based clinical guidance was adopted. We saw that local and national guidance was circulated to all clinical staff and discussed at weekly clinical meetings. We viewed several examples, including the new pre-diabetes guidelines, which had prompted the practice to arrange a meeting with a consultant to discuss best practice.
  • The management of waste had improved.
  • A system had been introduced to monitor the use of prescriptions in the practice.
  • The pilot project intended to improve the care of patients diagnosed with dementia had improved identification and treatment of patients with dementia at the practice. Unpublished results from the Quality and Outcomes Framework 2016/17 showed that the number of dementia patients whose care plans had been reviewed in the last 12 months had increased from 56% in 2015/16 to 70% in 2016/17. One of the GPs had received specific training in dementia and could prescribe appropriate medicine. This meant that patients could be seen at an extended one hour appointment in-house instead of having to attend a memory clinic at the local hospital.
  • More information for patients had been uploaded to the practice website, including details of the complaints system. A new practice website was in the development phase at the time of our July inspection and was due to go live in August 2017. The draft website was viewed.

However, there was also an area of practice where the provider should make improvements:

  • Continue to monitor the telephone access for patients, so that patient experience improves in relation to the ease of getting through to the surgery by telephone.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

19 October 2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice


We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Gables Medicentre on 19 October 2016. Overall the practice is 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 a system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
  • Staff understood their responsibilities to raise concerns and to report incidents and near misses. The practice had a formal system in place for the ongoing monitoring of significant events, incidents and accidents.
  • The arrangements in place to ensure that risks to patients and staff were assessed and well managed did not meet nationally recognised guidelines. The provider took some action on the day of inspection. For example, a defibrillator was ordered for next day delivery.
  • Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance.
  • The practice had a programme of continuous clinical and internal audit in order to monitor quality and make improvements.
  • The practice invested in staff development and training and provided training for new doctors.
  • 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 difficult to contact the surgery by telephone especially when trying to make an appointment. The provider had planned to make improvements.
  • 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 engaged with and supported by the management.
  • The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients. Actions were taken as a result of feedback.
  • The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

There was one area of outstanding practice:

  • The healthcare assistant ran the smoking cessation programme and had been recognised as achieving the highest success rate for GP practices in Coventry in each of the last three years.

Importantly there were areas where the provider must make improvements:

  • Ensure that risks to patients and staff are minimised with the completion and review of risk assessments, in particular for legionella and fire.
  • Ensure that results from ongoing monitoring checks are reviewed before prescribing high risk medication.

There were areas of practice where the provider should make improvements:

  • Complete a list of risks identified and formally assess each one.
  • Ensure general waste bins in clinical rooms are closed foot operated units.
  • Introduce a tracking system to monitor the use of prescriptions.
  • Implement a system to monitor the adoption of clinical guidelines.
  • Review the information available to patients on the practice website


Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice