Archived: Stonefield Street Surgery

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Stonefield Street Surgery on 13 January 2016. Overall the practice is rated as outstanding.

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

• 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.
• The practice used innovative and proactive methods to improve patient outcomes, working with other local providers to share best practice.
• Feedback from patients about their care was consistently and strongly positive.
• The practice worked closely with other organisations and with the local community in planning how services were provided to ensure that they meet patients’ needs. The practice had worked with a neighbouring practice and Public Health to hold a “Health Summit” for men over the age of 50.
• Data showed patient outcomes were above those locally and nationally.

• The practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a consequence of feedback from patients and from the patient participation group.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. Following patient feedback the practice had made improvements to the building to improve accessibility.
• Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority. The strategy to deliver this vision had been produced with stakeholders and was regularly reviewed and discussed with staff.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.

We saw several areas of outstanding practice including:

• The practice had reduced its unnecessary hospital admissions, for patients with a care plan, by 14% by extending the National Proactive Care programme.
• One of the GPs had trained and worked closely with a drug liaison worker and all drug users had been actively screened and vaccinated against all relevant, infectious diseases.
• The practice took part in a pilot with the local Memory clinic to streamline the referral process so that all investigations and discussions were held ahead of referral. This is now used as a pathway for all referrals within the Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale area.
• The practice placed the needs of its patients at the centre of its operation. The practice constantly listened to its patients and responded in a timely way to improve the service. Most recently this had lead to them increasing appointments in the afternoon and the number of telephone lines each morning.
• The practice were innovative and engaged effectively with local community groups and services to seek service improvement.
• The practice had a clear vision which was owned by all the staff team.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice