We carried out an announced inspection at Oakwood Lane Medical Practice on 21 and 22 July 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as Good.
Safe - Good
Effective - Good
Caring - Good
Responsive - Good
Well-led – Good
Following our previous inspection on 25 January 2019, the practice was rated Good overall and for all key questions.
The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Oakwood Lane Medical Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we carried out this inspection
We carried out this comprehensive inspection in line with our inspection priorities.
How we carried out the inspection/review
Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.
This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.
This included:
- Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing
- Staff questionnaires sent to staff ahead of the inspection
- Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system and discussing findings with the provider
- Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider
- Requesting evidence from the provider
- 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 have rated this practice as Good overall
We found that:
- The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
- The practice understood the needs of the local population and were committed to providing services to support this group of patients.
- The practice was committed to continuous learning and improvement and engaged with a number of projects including the domestic violence initiative and the making health services better for people who are neurodiverse project.
- 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 adjusted how it delivered services to meet the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. 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-centre care.
We saw areas of outstanding practice:
The practice had been involved in an action research project with the West Yorkshire and Humber Health and Care Partnership with the aim of making health services better for people who are neurodiverse.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the practice worked with the proactive team which was established to provide support for all shielded patients who were at risk of being socially isolated and vulnerable. The service offered home visits, support with tasks such as access to groceries and prescriptions. We were able review case studies which demonstrated a significant improvement to quality of life as a result of this work.
The practice was involved in a domestic violence initiative to support domestic abuse victims and survivors. The practice was identified as a safe space where victims and survivors could disclose abuse, seek support and increase safety.
Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:
- Continue to improve uptake of cervical screening
- Continue to improve uptake of childhood immunisations
- Continue to improve long-term conditions monitoring.
- Continue to take steps to identify registered patients who are also carrying out the role of a carer.
- Engage with staff to improve communication mechanisms between teams.
- Continue to review and improve access to the service.
- Ensure all staff are aware of the name and contact details for the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian.