20/10/2016
During a routine inspection
Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Sidhu’s Medical Practice on 20 October 2016. Overall the practice is rated as inadequate.
The practice had been previously inspected on 13 January 2016. Following this inspection the practice was rated inadequate with the following domain ratings:
Safe – Inadequate
Effective – Inadequate
Caring – Inadequate
Responsive – Inadequate
Well-led – Inadequate
The practice was placed in special measures.
Warning notices were issued on 24 March 2016 in relation to regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment) and regulation 17 (Good governance). An inspection was carried out on 17 June 2016 to check the warning notices had been complied with. It was found that the necessary improvements had taken place.
Our key findings across all the areas we inspected on 20 October 2016 were as follows:
- Data showed patient outcomes were usually low compared to the national average.
- Some patients reported that it was difficult to access appointments, and that it was difficult to get through to the practice by telephone.
- Not all clinicians understood issues relating to consent.
- Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Reviews and investigations were thorough.
- Risks to patients were assessed and well managed, with the exception of those relating to recruitment checks
- Audits had been carried out and there was evidence that audits were driving improvements to patient outcomes.
- The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
- There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management.
- The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
The areas where the provider must make improvements are:
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The provider must ensure appropriate action is taken when alerts are received from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
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The provider must ensure patients are appropriately diagnosed and read coded so that clinical prevalence rates are accurate and appropriate care and treatment can be offered.
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The provider must ensure all clinical staff have the required understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 so consent is correctly sought.
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The provider must ensure all relevant information is obtained for staff prior to them being employed.
This service was placed in special measures following the inspection in January 2016. Insufficient improvements have been made and there remains a rating of inadequate for the safe, effective and well-led domains. Due to the improvements that have been made since the initial rating of inadequate we have not yet started the process of preventing the provider from operating the service. Other enforcement action will be taken. They will remain in special measures. Another inspection will be conducted within six months, and if there is not enough improvement we will move to close the service by adopting our proposal to vary the provider’s registration to remove this location or cancel the provider’s registration.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice