Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
At our previous comprehensive inspection at Hersham Surgery in Walton On Thames, Surrey on 20 September 2016 we found a breach of regulations relating to the provision of safe services. The overall rating for the practice was good. Specifically, the practice was rated requires improvement for the provision of safe services and good for the provision of effective, caring, responsive and well-led services. The full comprehensive report on the September 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Hersham Surgery on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
This inspection was a desk-based review carried out on 19 June 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breach in regulations that we identified in our previous inspection in September 2016. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also additional improvements made since our last inspection.
We found the practice had made improvements since our last inspection. Using information provided by the practice we found the practice was now meeting the regulations that had previously been breached. We have amended the rating for this practice to reflect these changes. The practice is now rated good for the provision of safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led services.
Our key findings were as follows:
- We saw the practice had reviewed existing arrangements and all clinical staff had suitable and appropriate indemnity insurance. Indemnity insurance is used for professional negligence claims, or allegations of malpractice, received against a member of staff in the course of their professional duties.
- Revised recruitment policies and processes had been adopted which reflected national guidance. For example, supporting recruitment documentation that was missing during the September 2016 inspection was now all recorded and documented correctly including registration with the appropriate professional body.
- The practice had reviewed and updated the practice governance framework. This included a review of policies and procedures. Furthermore, as part of the governance review, updated guidance had been sent to all staff to increase awareness of where policies were stored.
- Further steps had been taken steps to increase privacy and confidentiality in an upstairs area of the practice. Awareness of the importance of confidentiality has been discussed with all practice staff and continued to be regularly reviewed including in-house observations.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice