30 June 2016
During a routine inspection
Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of Belmont and Sherburn Group Practice on 6 October 2015. The practice was rated good, overall. After that inspection we received concerns in relation to insufficiency of appointment availability, difficulty of getting through on the telephone and poor responses to home visit requests. As a result we undertook a focused inspection on 30 June 2016 to look into these concerns. This report only covers our findings in relation to these topics. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Belmont and Sherburn group practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Our key findings across all of the areas we inspected were as follows:
- There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events. However, we did not see any evidence of thematic analysis.
- Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide this with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
- We found there were appointments available and not all had been filled in the week before the inspection. Urgent appointments were available each day.
- Home visits were available and assessed and prioritised appropriately by a clinician.
- A new telephone system had been implemented and as a result the complaints about access had diminished in the last month.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice