Archived: McIlvride Medical Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at McIlvride Medical Practice on 19 May 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 an established part of the local community and had good links with care homes, the district nursing team and care coordinators.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• The practice had undergone a period of change in the previous 12 months, with the appointment of a new practice manager and two new GP partners. 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:

• There was a consistent focus on multidisciplinary working with multiple community and specialist teams. For example, patients had access to a physiotherapist without the need for a referral through a local practice partnership. Staff had spent a day in local pharmacies through a ‘Walking in the shoes of’ project. This helped staff in all roles to understand pharmacy processes and how to reduce medicine errors.
• The practice IT lead had piloted and implemented social media as a communication tool. This was used to communicate urgent messages such as a power failure to the practice as well as to direct patients at risk of social isolation to community social events such as a tea dance.
• A care coordinator provided dedicated support to patients with long term conditions and particularly those who had attended hospital as an inpatient. This meant patients had rapid access to community services including occupational health and counselling.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice