England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice has taken a Slough GP practice out of special measures following improvements in the quality of its services.
The Orchard Surgery in Langley had been rated Inadequate during an inspection in May 2015, when it was placed into special measures.
During the latest inspection in January 2016, a specialist team of inspectors found that the practice had improved in all five key areas. The overall rating for the practice has moved from Inadequate to Good. The practice was rated as Good for providing safe, effective, caring, and well-led services, and Requires Improvement for responsive services.
The full report of the inspection has been published on this website.
Inspectors found that practice staff had worked together to complete a thorough review of the service since the May 2015 inspection in order to implement sustainable improvements and ensure that regulations were met.
Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. The majority of information about safety was appropriately recorded, monitored and reviewed.
Risks to patients were fully assessed and well managed. Inspectors observed that thorough audits were driving positive outcomes for patients.
Information about services and how to make complaints was available and easy to understand.
Although urgent and online appointments were available on the same day, patients said they found it difficult to make an appointment with a named GP and sometimes experienced long waiting times when trying to call the practice in the mornings.
Professor Steve Field, Chief Inspector of General Practice, said:
"It is clear that The Orchard Surgery has made some real improvements since our previous inspection, in May 2015, where we identified serious concerns relating to the safe delivery of services and leadership of the practice.
"The practice is now providing a safe, caring and effective service. I am pleased to announce that The Orchard Surgery will come out of special measures and I congratulate them on the progress that they have made.”
Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice for the South of England, said:
“During our recent inspection in January 2016, we found improvements had been made in all areas and that action had been taken to identify, assess and manage risks to patients.
“We are pleased to see that the hard work and strong commitment from all practice staff to deliver improved services has resulted in higher standards of care for their patients. The practice should be very proud of this achievement.
Dr Geoff Payne, Medical Director for NHS England (South Central region) said:
“These inspections are about ensuring that every patient receives consistently high quality care. The process of special measures has been an opportunity for the practice team at The Orchard Surgery to focus on where improvements were needed and to make changes quickly, with the support of NHS England, Slough Clinical Commissioning Group and the Royal College of GPs. We commend the practice team for their hard work and dedication to transform the practice in the space of six months; this is a great achievement for both the staff and their patients.”
Ends
For further information please contact Yetunde Akintewe, CQC Regional Engagement Manager, on 07471 020 659. For media enquiries, journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team here. For general enquiries, please call 03000 61 61 61.
Find out more
Read our reports about the Orchard Surgery.
We commend the practice team for their hard work and dedication to transform the practice in the space of six months; this is a great achievement for both the staff and their patients.
Dr Geoff Payne, Medical Director NHS England (South Central region)