Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
This is the report from our inspection of Bootle Village Surgery which is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide primary care services.
We undertook a planned, comprehensive inspection on the 4 November 2014 at Bootle Village Surgery. We reviewed information we held about the services including patients comments and spoke with GPs and staff.
Bootle Village Surgery is rated as requiring improvement for providing safe and well led services. However, we had not seen any evidence to show that this had impacted on patient’s welfare and therefore the practice has been rated good overall.
Our key findings were as follows:
- There were some systems in place to mitigate safety risks. The premises were clean and tidy. Systems were in place to ensure medication including vaccines were appropriately stored and in date.
- The practice was effective. Patients had their needs assessed in line with current guidance and the practice promoted health education to empower patients to live healthier lives.
- The practice was caring. Feedback from patients and observations throughout our inspection highlighted the staff were kind, caring and helpful.
- The practice was responsive and acted on patient complaints and feedback.
- The staff worked exceptionally well together as a team and had regular staff meetings.
However, there were also areas of the practice where the provider needs to make improvements.
Importantly, the provider must:
- Ensure that all records for management of the regulated activities are comprehensive to underpin the informal governance systems already in place. In particular, the practice must review and update all policies and risk assessments for the practice and ensure staff are aware of procedures and can access all policies. (Regulation 20 Health & Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 Records)
- Ensure that records and checks pertaining to the employment of staff for the purposes of carrying out the regulated activity are updated to include any recruitment checks (or risk assessments as to why recruitment checks not carried out) and professional registration status. (Regulation 21 Health & Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 Requirements relating to workers)
The provider should:
- Make patients aware there is a chaperoning service available.
- Make patients aware there is a complaints policy available and update the policy to give patients the correct contact details for who they should contact if they are not happy with the outcome of their complaint.
- Consider other ways to gain patients’ feedback for example using a patient participation group.
- Should ensure the findings from audits are cascaded to the whole practice to improve patients’ outcomes.
- Make sure there is a child safeguarding procedure and policy available for all staff.
- Ensure all staff receive infection control training suitable for their role.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice