Ritchie Street Group Practice

Updated 9 January 2020

The Ritchie Street Group Practice (the practice) operates from the Ritchie Street Neighbourhood Health Centre at 34 Ritchie Street, Islington, London N1 0DG. The premises are shared with another registered provider, which is responsible for a walk-in GP consultation service, and is one of four extended hours hubs run by the local GP Federation. There is also a pharmacist on site. It is located close to Angel, Islington, a short distance from bus and tube services.

The practice provides NHS services through a General Medical Services (GMS) contract to approximately 18,200 patients. The list has increased by around 5,500 patients since our last inspection, following the closure and relocation of two nearby practices, with almost 1,000 new patients joining the list since January 2019. There is a high turnover rate of approximately 25% per year, with patients moving in and out of the area, which has a higher mid-range overall deprivation level. The majority of patients are younger working age adults (20-40 years).

The practice has a General Medical Services contract and operates within the NHS Islington Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) which is made up of 33 general practices. It is part of the South Islington Primary Care Network, with six other general practices. The practice is registered with the CQC to carry out the following regulated activities - diagnostic and screening procedures; treatment of disease, disorder or injury; family planning; maternity and midwifery services; and surgical procedures.

The clinical staff is made up of four GP partners and seven salaried GPs (eight female and three male). There is a nursing team manager, two practice nurses and two healthcare assistants. It is a training practice, currently with three trainee doctors working. The administrative team is made up of a manager, deputy and assistant, and four administrators; a reception supervisor and 13 receptionists.

The practice offers appointments from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Monday to Friday and between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm on Saturdays. A walk-in service, run by a different provider, operates at the location throughout the week, including Sunday. The practice has opted out of providing an out of hours service.  Patients calling the practice outside normal operating hours are put through to the local out of hours service provider.

Updated 9 January 2020

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Ritchie Street Group Practice (the practice) on 13 November 2019 as part of our inspection programme, following our annual review of the information available to us. The practice had last been inspected in February 2016, when we had rated it Good for all key questions and population groups. Our previous inspection report can be found by going to https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-583929825 and selecting the Reports tab.

At this inspection we have rated the practice as Good overall and in respect of the five key questions and six population groups.

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 provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.
• Not all staff were up to date with mandatory training.

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

• Continue to review the uptake of cervical screening and childhood immunisation rates and implement action to bring about and sustain improvement.
• Review the processes for recording internal meetings and passing on relevant service information to staff.
• Ensure that all staff are up to date with mandatory training requirements.

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

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care

Updated 9 January 2020

Updated 9 January 2020

Updated 9 January 2020

Updated 9 January 2020

Updated 9 January 2020

Updated 9 January 2020