The Care Quality Commission
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Archived: Cornerstone Practice

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Station Road, Chiseldon, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN4 0PB (01793) 740033

Provided and run by:
Cornerstone Practice

All Inspections

A desktop review was carried out on 14 March 2016.

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

When we visited Cornerstone Practice in October 2014 we found concerns related to the safe delivery of services.

We found that the practice required improvement for the provision of safe services because improvements were needed in the way the security of blank prescriptions was managed and some relevant staff checks had not been undertaken. Cornerstone Practice sent us an action plan that set out the changes they would make to improve these areas.

This desktop review was undertaken to ensure the practice had made these changes and that the service was meeting regulations. For this reason we have only rated the location for the key question to which this related. This report should be read in conjunction with the full inspection report of 14 October 2014.

Specifically Cornerstone Practice was:

  • Assessing the responsibilities and activities of staff to determine if they require a disclosure and barring service (DBS) check. (These checks identify whether a person has a criminal record or is on an official list of people barred from working in roles where they may have contact with children or adults who may be vulnerable).

  • Performing DBS checks when recruiting nurses.

  • Operating a consistent system to maintain the security of blank prescriptions.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

14 October 2014

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

Cornerstone practice is a semi-rural dispensing practice providing primary care services to patients resident in Chiseldon and the surrounding villages Monday to Friday. The practice has a patient population of approximately 1,604 of which 21% are over 65 years of age.

We undertook a scheduled, announced inspection on 14 October 2014. Our inspection team was led by a Care Quality Commission (CQC) Lead Inspector and GP specialist advisor. Additional inspection team members were a practice manager specialist advisor and a CQC pharmacy inspector.

The overall rating for Cornerstone Practice was good. Our key findings were as follows:

  • Patients were able to get an appointment when they needed it.
  • Staff were caring and treated patients with kindness and respect.
  • Staff explained and involved patients in treatment decisions
  • Patients were cared for in an environment which was clean and reflected good infection control practices.
  • Patients were protected from the risks of unsafe medicine management procedures.
  • The practice had the appropriate equipment, medicines and procedures to manage foreseeable patient emergencies.
  • The practice met nationally recognised quality standards for improving patient care and maintaining quality.
  • Patients were treated by suitably qualified staff
  • The practice had systems to identify, monitor and evaluate risks to patients.
  • GPs and nursing staff followed national clinical guidance.
  • The practice had not risk assessed the different responsibilities and activities of staff to determine if they required a criminal records check via the Disclosure and Barring Service. Practice staff who were acting in the role of patient chaperone had not a criminal records check. The practice had not undertaken criminal records checks on nurses as part of their recruitment process.

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

Importantly the provider must:

  • Assess the different responsibilities and activities of staff to determine if they require a criminal records check via the Disclosure and Barring Service and to what level.
  • Ensure staff undertaking chaperone duties have a criminal records check via the Disclosure and Barring Service.
  • Ensure criminal records checks are undertaken on nursing staff as part of the recruitment process.

The provider should:

  • Ensure blank prescription pads are not left unattended in printers in unlocked rooms.
  • Include information about other agencies to contact when the patient is not satisfied with the way the practice has handled their complaint.
  • Ensure the practice recruitment policy sets out the procedures to follow when recruiting clinical and non-clinical staff

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice