Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection April 2015 – Good)
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
As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:
Older People – Good
People with long-term conditions – Good
Families, children and young people – Good
Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good
People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good
People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Courtside Surgery on 16 March 2018 as part of our inspection programme.
At this inspection we found:
- 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. Areas identified at the last inspection in 2015 where the practice should make improvements had been addressed.
We saw two areas of outstanding practice:
- The practice had developed IT based systems to improve medicines management and patient care. These included electronic repeat prescribing protocols; and electronic systems to share clinical information with other health care organisations to ensure appropriate end of life patient care.
- The practice carried out proactive screening of patients for alcohol misuse; and had used IT to improve prescription management in relation to substance misuse. Patients had access to an onsite drug and alcohol misuse support worker and a lead GP.
The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
-
There was an effective system to manage infection prevention and control, however, arrangements should be reviewed.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice