Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out a comprehensive inspection of The Barnabas Medical Centre on 21 January 2015. We rated the practice as ‘Good’ for the service being safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs and well-led. We rated the practice as ‘Good’ for the care provided to older people and people with long term conditions and ‘Good’ for the care provided to, families, children and young people, working age people (including those recently retired and students), people living in vulnerable circumstances and people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).
We gave the practice an overall rating of ‘Good’
Our key findings were as follows:
- The service was safe. We found infection control standards were followed, medicines were managed appropriately, safeguarding procedures were in place and there was sufficient staff to deliver safe services.
- Staff delivered effective care and treatment following professional guidelines.
- The practice worked with other health care professionals to manage patients with complex needs.
- Patients said they were treated with dignity and respect and they were satisfied with the overall service provided.
- Most patients were satisfied with access to the service and the appointment system. However, some patients fed back that the practice’s opening hours could be improved.
- The practice had governance arrangements in place and staff were aware of who to report to with any concerns.
However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.
The provider should:
- Provide staff with access to and training in the use of an automated external defibrillator (used to attempt to restart a person’s heart in an emergency) in accordance with the Resuscitation Council (UK) recommendations for primary care.
- Ensure clinical staff complete basic life support training annually in accordance with the Resuscitation Council (UK) recommendations for primary care.
- Ensure staff complete fire safety training as part of their mandatory training requirements.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice