Background to this inspection
Updated
21 June 2018
- The registered provider is St Mary’s Medical Centre.
- St Mary’s Medical Centre is located at Vicarage Road, Strood, Rochester, Kent, ME2 4DG. The practice has a general medical services contract with NHS England for delivering primary care services to the local community. The practice website address is .
- As part of our inspection we visited St Mary’s Medical Centre, Vicarage Road, Strood, Rochester, Kent, ME2 4DG only, where the provider delivers registered activities.
- St Mary’s Medical centre has a registered patient population of approximately 7,200 patients. The practice is located in an area with an average deprivation score.
Updated
21 June 2018
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at St Mary’s Medical Centre on 17 October 2017. The overall rating for the practice was requires improvement. The full comprehensive report on the October 2017 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for St Mary’s Medical Centre on our website at .
After the inspection in October 2017 the practice wrote to us with an action plan outlining how they would make the necessary improvements to comply with the regulations.
This inspection was an announced comprehensive responsive follow up inspection carried out on 16 May 2018 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulations that we identified in our previous inspection on 17 October 2017.
The inspection carried out on 16 May 2018 found that the practice had responded to the concerns raised at the October 2017 inspection. The overall rating for the practice is now 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? - Good
At this inspection we found:
- There was an effective system for reporting and recording significant events.
- Clinical equipment in GPs’ home visit bags was now up to date with calibration.
- The practice had made improvements to the arrangements for managing infection prevention and control.
- The practice had revised their system that managed notifiable safety incidents.
- Risks to patients, staff and visitors were now being assessed and managed in an effective and timely manner.
- The practice had made improvements in the timely processing of incoming records that required the attention of clinical staff.
- Improvements to the management of medicines helped keep patients safe.
- The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care they provided. They ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
- Data from the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) showed the results for practice management of patients with long-term conditions were good.
- Records showed that all relevant staff were now up to date with infection control training and fire safety training.
- Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
- Patients were able to access care and treatment from the practice within an acceptable timescale for their needs.
- The practice had made improvements to governance arrangements.
- The practice had systems and processes for learning, continuous improvement and innovation.
The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
- Continue with plans to improve the practice environment. For example, replacing stained and / or damaged carpets.
- Provide non-clinical staff with awareness training relevant to their role in the identification and management of patients with severe infections.
- Repair the hearing loop available at the reception desk.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice