The Care Quality Commission
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Archived: Crest Medical Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

157 Crest Road, Neasden, London, NW2 7NA (020) 8452 5155

Provided and run by:
Crest Medical Centre

All Inspections

5 September 2016

During an inspection looking at part of the service

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of Crest Medical Centre on 25 March 2015. At that time we found the practice was breaching legal requirements in relation to its recruitment practice and the practice was rated as requires improvement for providing safe care. The previous comprehensive inspection report can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Crest Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Following that inspection, the practice wrote to us with details of the actions they would take to meet the legal requirements.

We undertook this focused inspection to check that the practice had followed their plan and to confirm that they now met the legal requirements. This inspection did not include a visit to the practice. This report covers our findings from the focused inspection.

We found the practice was now providing safe services and have rated the practice as good for providing safe care.

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

  • Systems and processes were in place to keep people safe. The practice had taken steps to ensure risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
  • The practice had carried out all necessary recruitment checks and could evidence this. The practice recruitment policy specified the recruitment checks which were required and these were in line with the relevant regulations.
  • All staff had completed training on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults to the relevant level. The practice kept a record of staff training and alerted staff members when refresher training was due. 

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

25 March 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Crest Medical Centre on 25 March 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing well-led, effective, caring and responsive services. It required improvement for providing safe services. It was also good for providing services for older people, people with long term conditions, families children and young people, working age people including those recently retired, people whose circumstances make them vulnerable, and people experiencing poor mental health (including those with dementia).

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

  • 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 well managed, with the exception of those relating to recruitment checks.
  • Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
  • Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
  • The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
  • There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.

However there were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

Importantly the provider must:

  • Ensure all staff have undertaken training in child protection and safeguarding adults.
  • Ensure all staff have the required recruitment checks carried out and recorded prior to starting their employment.

In addition the provider should:

  • Ensure that all actions to improve fire safety which were identified in the fire safety audit are completed.
  • Ensure audit cycles are completed to drive continual improvement.

Update the practice website to reflect the results of the most recent patient survey.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice