Background to this inspection
Updated
15 June 2018
Falmouth Road Group Practice is a GP surgery located at 78 Falmouth Road, London, SE1 4JW. The practice website can be found at www.southwarkgp.co.uk
The practice is currently operating under an Alternative Primary Medical Services (APMS) contract having taken over the service from the previous provider in January 2017. The practice provides GP services to approximately 5800 patients. The practice is located in an area ranked among the third most deprived decile in the country on the index of multiple deprivation scale. The practice has an ethnically diverse patient population with 6.2% of patients identifying themselves as mixed ethnicity, 16.4% Asian, 24.2% black, 4.2% other non-white ethnic groups.
Out of hours services are provided by South East London Doctors on Call (SELDOC)
The practice is operated by AT Medics Limited. The practice employs a female and two male GP who provide 17 sessions. The practice also employs an advanced nurse practitioner who works 24 hours per week, two practice nurses, two healthcare assistants and a pharmacist.
Falmouth Road Group Practice is registered to provide the following regulated activities Diagnostic and screening procedures, Treatment of disease, disorder or injury, Maternity and midwifery services and Family planning.
Updated
15 June 2018
This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection 26 October 2017 – Requires Improvement). The practice was previously operated by another provider. This provider was placed in special measures and subsequently had their CQC registration cancelled. The current provider (AT Medics) began operating the site in January 2017. Special measures transferred to the current provider when they assumed responsibility for the practice. At our last inspection we found that the new provider had not made sufficient improvement to come out of special measures.
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
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Falmouth Road Group Practice on 26 April 2018 to follow up on breaches of regulations 12 and 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 identified at our last inspection completed on 26 October 2017.
Concerns at our last inspection related to the management of medicines, systems to manage infection control, safeguarding, safety alerts and significant events. We also found that some pathology results had not been actioned within a reasonable timeframe. Our previous report can be found at http://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-3253726908
At this inspection we found:
That the provider had addressed all of the concerns raised at our previous inspection. In addition the practice continued to work to improve the standard of care and patient satisfaction after taking over operating the service from the previous provider in January 2017.
In addition:
- The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
- The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.
- Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
- Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that 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.
We saw one area of outstanding practice:
- All Pharmacists working for the organisation were required to undergo objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) provided through AT Medics. This involved eight stations covering various prescribing areas including depression, contraception and pre diabetes. Each station had an actor and an examiner. Following the exam all pharmacists received individual and collective feedback. If a pharmacist has scored particularly poorly in an area, they would undergo remedial training or focused observation to see if they are safe to continue in that particular area.
The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
- Continue with work to improve the uptake of bowel and breast screening.
- Advertise translation services in the reception area.
I am taking this service out of special measures as a result of the significant improvements that the provider has made.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice