14 November 2017
During a routine inspection
Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection April 2015 – Good)
The key questions are rated as:
Are services safe? – Good
Are services effective? – Good
Are services caring? – Good
Are services responsive? – Requires improvement
Are services well-led? - Good
As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:
Older People – Good
People with long-term conditions – Good
Families, children and young people – Good
Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good
People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good
People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Cedar House Surgery on 14 November 2017 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. The inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
At this inspection we found:
- The practice evidenced that they worked as a cohesive team with clear clinical oversight to provide patient centred care to their patients.
- The practice had reviewed and developed innovative skill mix within the practice. For example, they employed two advance nurse practitioners, one who specialised in the care of children, and one whose role included visiting patients living in care homes.
- The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
- The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
- Practice staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity, and respect.
- Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care on the day when they needed it however some patients told us they had difficulty in booking appointments in advance. This was also reflected in the latest GP national GP patient survey data.
- There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
- Information about services and how to complain was available to patients and the practice recorded verbal and written complaints.
The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
- Continue to monitor patient survey data and implement changes to continue to improve patient access.
- Continue to identify carers to ensure that they receive appropriate support and care.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice