The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Lister House Surgery

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

The Common, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 0NL 0844 576 9870

Provided and run by:
Lister House Surgery

All Inspections

13 December 2023

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out a targeted assessment of Lister House Surgery on 13 December 2023 without a site visit. Overall, the practice is rated as good. We rated the key question of responsive as requires improvement.

Safe -good

Effective – good

Caring - good

Responsive – requires improvement

Well led – good

Following our previous inspection in February 2019, the practice was rated good overall and for all key questions. At this inspection, we rated the practice requires improvement for providing responsive services.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Aveley Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

We carried out this inspection to undertake a targeted assessment of the key question of responsive.

How we carried out the inspection/review

This inspection was carried out remotely.

This included:

  • Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
  • Requesting evidence from the provider.

Our findings

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

  • what we found when we inspected
  • information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We found that:

  • The practice was implementing changes based on a consistent decline in patient satisfaction reported within the GP national patient survey data since 2018.
  • The practice increased education for patient monitoring and health education by using technology advancements.
  • Accessing the practice was made easier for patients, including implementing a new cloud-based telephone system to avoid long waiting times.
  • The practice was waiting to take part in the National General Practice Improvement Programme to provide a modernised approach to staff training, continuity of care, and access.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

  • Continue to monitor and audit patient feedback to improve patient feedback about phone access and appointment availability.
  • Continue to improve staff training in identifying priority access patients and developing communication with patients for continuity of care.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Health Care

24 June 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Lister House Surgery on 24 June 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing safe, well-led, effective, caring and responsive services. It was also good for providing services for older people, people with long term conditions, families with young children, working age people, those whose circumstances make them vulnerable and those suffering with mental health problems.

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.
  • 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.
  • Care plans were used for patients with long term conditions and those with poor mental health.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • The practice had responded to feedback from patients when planning its services.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
  • 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.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

  • Lister House had been accredited as a Purple Star practice in May 2015 and was the first practice to receive this. Purple Star was a local initiative hosted by Hertfordshire county council that promoted health equality for people with learning disabilities.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice