30 March 2017
During a routine inspection
Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at GRABADOC Healthcare Society Limited on 30 March 2017. There was not sufficient evidence for us to rate the service; however our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:
- The governance arrangements in place were not effective in assessing, monitoring and improving the quality and safety of the services provided, and did not assess, monitor and mitigate risks to service users.
- The provider did not ensure that persons providing care or treatment to service users had the qualifications, competence, skills and experience to do so safely.
- Non clinical staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to perform their role effectively with the exception of providing formal chaperone training for staff expected to carry out the chaperone role.
- The provider did not ensure the proper and safe management of medicines by evaluating and monitoring the prescribing of medicines.
- The provider had not reviewed or assessed patient care needs and ensured care was delivered in line with relevant and current evidence based guidance and standards, including National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) best service guidelines.
- The provider did not seek and act on feedback from patients to continually evaluate and improve services.
- Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand.
- The provider did not seek and act on feedback from relevant persons and other persons on the services provided in the carrying on of the regulated activity for the purposes of continually evaluating and improving services.
- The service had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs, with the exception of facilities for hearing impaired patients.
The areas where the provider must make improvement are:
- Assess services provided to ensure that the care and treatment of service users is appropriate and meets their needs.
- Ensure that persons providing care or treatment to service users have the qualifications, competence, skills and experience to do so safely, and maintain an effective record of this.
- Ensure the proper and safe management of medicines by monitoring and evaluating prescribing.
- Establish and effectively operate systems and processes to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of services provided and to assess, monitor and mitigate risks to service users.
The areas where the provider should make improvement are:
- Consider ways to review clinical effectiveness and improve patient outcomes.
- Review how patient feedback is collected, considering a patient survey.
- Review facilities provided for patients with hearing difficulties to ensure their needs are met.
- Review systems and process in place with other services to ensure that; clinical guidelines are followed, patients are effectively safeguarded from abuse, and that clinicians providing clinical services are appropriately trained, qualified and competent for the role.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice