Didsbury Medical Centre

We carried out an announced focused inspection at Didsbury Medical Centre on 10 & 14 November 2022. Overall, the practice is rated good.

Safe - good

Effective - good

Caring – Not inspected

Responsive - Not inspected (we have reported some elements of this as part of a national initiative.

Well-led - good

Following our previous inspection on 30 June 2016 the practice was rated good overall and for all key questions.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Didsbury Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

We carried out this inspection in line with our inspection priorities. This was a focused inspection that looked at the minimum requirement of the safe, effective and well-led key questions.

How we carried out the inspection.

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site.

This included;

• Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
• Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system (this was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements).
• Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider.
• Requesting evidence from the provider.
• A short site visit.

Our findings

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

• what we found when we inspected
• information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We found that:

• The practice had comprehensive systems in place that were working effectively and as intended to safeguard patients and staff from abuse and harm. They demonstrated that prescribing was in line with targets in all areas.
• The practice provided high-quality and effective care to patients, although there were some gaps, they were generally aware of areas where it needed to improve and had taken steps to proactively address these areas. The provider took immediate action to address the risks we identified during the inspection.
• The practice was able to demonstrate that governance arrangements were in place and effective. Leaders were visible and were engaged, allowing the practice to adapt to challenges quickly and provide support for staff and high-quality delivery of services.
• The practice was involved in a number of ongoing research projects at improving patient outcomes, the practice was in the process of collecting evidence to demonstrate this.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

• Take steps to ensure that all DNACPR records are available for review and documented in line with guidance.
• Improve areas of low uptake in relation to childhood immunisations and cervical screening.
• Review patients highlighted in clinical searches to ensure all monitoring is complete.
• Document full clinical audits to demonstrate comprehensive quality improvement activity.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services