31 January 2017
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Stoke Road Medical Centre on 18 December 2014. The overall rating for the practice was requires improvement. The full comprehensive report on the December 2014 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Stoke Road Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk .
At the inspection in December 2014 the shortfalls found included a lack of all necessary employment checks for all staff; no records to confirm that all administrative and reception staff had received annual appraisals; and a lack of completed audits for infection control processes.
This inspection was an announced follow up comprehensive inspection on 31 January 2017. Overall the practice is now rated as good.
Our key findings were as follows:
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The practice had improved in areas of infection control and recording cleaning carried out.
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All recently employed staff had the correct background and recruitment checks in place.
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All staff had regular appraisals and felt part of a team within the practice.
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There were effective systems in place for reporting significant events and complaints.
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The practice had effective staff feedback processes in place for learning.
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The management had employed specialised staff within the practice to improve patient access to mental health, physiotherapy and health visitor services.For example the practice provided two sessions of physiotherapy to all patients without a GP having to necessarily refer them.
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The practice was forward thinking with regards to improving quality and availability of care to all patients in the near and distant future.
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The practice worked collaboratively with other primary care and voluntary agencies to increase access to treatment or advice.
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The practice was aware of where it needed to continue to improve in the future, particularly with regards to administration issues and reviewing policies within their set time frames.
However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.
The provider should:
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Review procedures for tracking prescription stationery throughout the practice.
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Review procedures for monitoring the number of annual patient checks for certain patient groups.
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Review the telephone systems in the practice to enable better access for patients.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice