We carried out an announced inspection at Atkinson Health Centre Practice on 17 August 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as Good.
The key question ratings are as follows:
Safe - Good
Effective – Good
Caring – Good
Responsive – Good
Well-led – Good
This is the first time this practice has been inspected under its current CQC registration.
Why we carried out this inspection
This inspection was a comprehensive inspection to check the provider was complying with the regulations under the Health and Social Care Act 2008. We inspected all five key questions to determine if the service is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.
How we carried out the inspection
Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.
This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.
This included:
• Conducting staff interviews remotely using video conferencing and also on-site;
• Completing clinical searches and associated records reviews on the practice’s patient records system and discussing findings with the provider;
• Requesting evidence from the provider for analysis;
• A shorter site visit;
• Further communications for clarification.
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;
• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.
We have rated this practice as Good overall
We found that:
- The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm;
- Feedback from staff was positive regarding the leadership and management of the practice;
- Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs although the monitoring of high-risk medicines was in need of review for some patients;
- Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and utilised social prescribing to help improve patient’s health and wellbeing;
- The practice had adjusted how it delivered services to meet the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and monitored access to services;
- Following the inspection the provider acted promptly to resolve any issues identified during the inspection.
Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:
- Review the management of patients prescribed medicines that require monitoring to ensure this is being completed in accordance with recommended best practice guidelines;
- Include the contact details of the parliamentary and health service ombudsman in complaint correspondence;
- Continue with plans to improve cervical cancer screening uptake levels;
- Progress plans to establish an active patient participation group.
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