We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of the Barnsbury Medical Practice, operated by Islington GP Group Limited, which included a site visit on 25 January 2023. Our previous inspections of the service had been when it was operated by another provider.
Overall, the service is rated as
Safe - Good
Effective - Good
Caring - Good
Responsive - Good
Well-led - Outstanding
Why we carried out this inspection
We carried out this inspection in line with our inspection priorities, to assess the quality of the service provided, following registration in May 2021.
How we carried out the inspection
This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site.
This included:
- Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
- Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system (this was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements).
- Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider.
- Requesting evidence from the provider.
- Obtaining confidential feedback from patients and staff members.
- A short site visit.
Our findings
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 had good outcomes because they received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
- Patients were supported, treated with dignity and respect and were involved in decisions about their care.
- Patients’ needs were met by the way services were organised and delivered.
- The leadership, governance and culture were used to drive and improve the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care. Much work had been done by the practice. Systems and processes had been reviewed and changes implemented; and patient records had been reviewed to ensure Safe and Effective care was being provided. Improvement was evidenced by the results of the National GP Patient Survey and feedback we received from patients, particularly with regard to Caring and Responsive aspects of the service. Staff members were consistently positive about the practice culture, level of engagement and their job satisfaction.
Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:
- Continue with work to improve the take up of childhood immunisations and cervical screening.
Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.
Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA
Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services