Archived: Number 18 Surgery

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Number 18 Surgery on 8 December 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good,

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

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• 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. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and 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. The practice was clean, tidy and hygienic. We found that suitable arrangements were in place that ensured the cleanliness of the practice was maintained to a high standard.
• The practice was run efficiently and was well organised. 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.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

We saw  areas of outstanding practice:

Following the closure of local hospital wards the practice developed an enhanced service to provide care to patients in a 65 bedded care home. The GP carries out regular timed ward rounds at the home three times a week so relatives know when they are attending. An additional ward round also takes place once a month with a pyscho geriatrician. This enhanced service has been rolled out to all other care homes in the area.

The practice has been proactive in developing safeguarding systems for a children’s safeguarding pathway created by the children’s safeguarding lead and shared through Map Of Medicine (MOM) for the whole of Bath and North East Somerset to use.

This included a RAG (Red, Amber, Green) system on their registers for child safeguarding multi disciplinary team meetings, this was being looked at by the Clinical Commissioning Group to role out across Bath and North East Somerset.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice