Ormskirk Medical Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Ormskirk Medical Practice (known previously as Leyland House Surgery). Overall the practice is rated as requires improvement.

Specifically, we found the practice to require improvement for providing safe, effective, and well led services. However it was rated as good for providing a caring and responsive service.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• Most staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and managed, with the exception of those relating to recruitment checks.
• Data showed patient outcomes were below average for the locality and the practice was taking action to address this, although this was not formalised into an action plan.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• The practice proactively sought feedback from patients and complaints were investigated and responded to appropriately.
• Urgent appointments were usually available on the day they were requested. However patients said that trying to get through on the telephone to the practice was challenging.
• The practice had a number of policies and procedures to govern activity. Many of these had been recently reviewed and updated but several still required updating.
• There was lack of clarity about the leadership of the practice and the staff did not know what the vision and strategy was for the practice.

However there are areas where the provider must make improvements:

• Ensure recruitment processes are up to date and include all necessary employment checks for all staff.

• Ensure induction training for all staff is comprehensive and prepares each staff member to undertake their role and responsibilities safely and effectively.
• Ensure there is a clear management and organisational structure that includes a lead for clinical governance and ensure formal governance arrangements are in place, to assist in monitoring and addressing gaps in performance.

In addition the provider should:

• Develop a practice vision and strategy that is shared with all staff, to ensure there is a collective understanding of what the practice wants to achieve and how each team member can contribute to the vision.
• Ensure GPs have appropriate updated training to allow them to effectively use the electronic patient record system.
• Ensure a system to monitor stocks and expiry dates of medicines for use in emergencies that are held in GP’s bags is implemented so that medicines are available and are replaced in a timely manner.
• Improve the administration and organisation of both paper and electronic records, such as policies, procedures and risk assessment so that all staff can access these quickly
• Ensure information on the practice website is up to date and includes details of how to book online appointments.
• Display fire procedure for patients in waiting rooms, especially in the first floor waiting rooms.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice