SMC Great Lever

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at SMC Great Lever on 14 July 2023. Overall, the practice is rated as good.

Safe - good

Effective - good

Caring - good

Responsive - good

Well-led - good

Why we carried out this inspection

This was a comprehensive inspection undertaken as part of our comprehensive inspection programme because the previous provider had retired and this provider registered to take over the practice.

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 provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.
• Since taking over the practice the provider had introduced a new set of policies and procedures tailored to the practice.

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

• Continue to improve uptake for childhood immunisations .
• Continue to improve uptake for cervical cytology cancer screening .
• Make patients aware of risks when prescribing teratogenic medicines .
• Ensure medication reviews always contain full review information in the clinical record .

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 Health Care