The Euxton Medical Centre

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous rating March 2018 – Good)

The key questions at this inspection are rated as:

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out a focused desk-based review of The Euxton Medical Centre on 25 September 2018. This inspection was to see whether the breach of Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 (Good Governance) found at our last inspection had been addressed. For this inspection, we focused on the key question of Well-led which we rated as requires improvement in March 2018.

At this inspection we found evidence the breach had been addressed; specifically, we found:

• Practice policies and procedures had been reviewed and implemented where necessary to support the delivery of safe and effective services.
• The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. Lessons learned from patient complaints and significant incidents were discussed and shared with all staff.
• Management overview of actions taken as a result of patient safety alerts had been improved.
• The governance of clinical staff training and membership of professional bodies had been strengthened.
• The practice had introduced and embedded a new system to ensure the security of prescriptions in the practice.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

Please refer to the detailed report and the evidence tables for further information.

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection 5 August 2015 – Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Requires Improvement

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 Euxton Medical Centre on 1 March 2018. This inspection was carried out 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 was 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 routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines. There was a comprehensive quality improvement programme in place.
• The practice had systems to manage risk so safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes although action taken as a result of incidents was not reviewed to ensure effectiveness.
• Practice governance systems required improvement. There was a lack of oversight of actions taken in respect of patient safety alerts and professional indemnity. The practice policies for dealing with communications into the practice and for urgent patient referrals were insufficient.
• Practice procedures to safeguard vulnerable patients were comprehensive and kept patients safe.
• Staff had a good understanding of patients contacting the practice who may need emergency care and treatment.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. Patients reported a high level of satisfaction with the way that staff cared for them.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported they were able to access care when they needed it.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Continue to monitor the security of loose prescriptions in printers.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice