Archived: Harrowside Medical Centre

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Harrowside Medical Centre on 5 July 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. Actions taken were reviewed to ensure that they had been implemented and were effective.
• 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.
• 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 several areas of outstanding practice:

• We saw many examples of a caring practice. For example, we saw evidence of care for a terminally ill patient where the practice had planned GP home visits to the patient with a specialist from the hospital at the same time. We saw a letter from the patient’s relatives praising the care received and a letter from the specialist recognising the benefit to the patient that this joint working had provided.
• Staff at the practice engaged with local and national charitable services and supported local health organisations including the local hospice in raising funds for them.

• The practice had shared clinical learning with the community district nursing team. Staff in the practice had been trained by the district nurses in specialised diagnostic assessment of patients and in patient wound dressings. In return, the practice staff assisted in the training of district nurses in the management of chronic disease.
• The practice sought opportunities for early identification of illnesses so as to prevent complications and treat appropriately. For instance, they assessed all patients attending clinics for influenza vaccinations for signs of atrial fibrillation (a heart condition).

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• The practice should minimise the risks that may be associated with the security of blank prescription pads.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice