25 May 2017
During a routine inspection
Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Sandringham Practice on 28 January 2016. During the inspection we identified a range of concerns including an absence of systems in place to manage risk or improve the quality of care provided to patients. (The full comprehensive report on the January 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Sandringham Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk).
The practice was rated as requires improvement for providing safe, effective and well led services and was rated as good for providing caring and responsive services. Overall the practice was rated as requires improvement.
An announced comprehensive inspection was undertaken on 25 May 2017. Overall the practice is now rated as good.
Our key findings were as follows:
- Action had been taken to improve previous governance failings and we noted that practice management and governance arrangements now facilitated the delivery of high-quality person-centred care.
- Action had been taken to improve how risks were assessed, monitored and actioned. For example, a central risk register had been introduced and we saw evidence that, with the exception of fridge temperature monitoring, risks to patients were routinely assessed and managed.
- Action had been taken to improve quality improvement. For example, clinical audit was now routinely being used to drive quality improvement.
- There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events. Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses.
- Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance.
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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.
• 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.
• 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.
The areas where the provider should make improvement are:
- Further investigate and take appropriate action to reduce exception reporting for the cancer clinical domain.
- Introduce a fridge temperature recording protocol to ensure that governance arrangements for recording fridge temperatures are robust.
- Consider introducing a fire evacuation plan to assist patients with mobility problems in vacating the premises.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice