Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
This practice is rated as requires improvement overall.
The key questions are rated as:
Are services safe? – Requires improvement
Are services effective? – Good
Are services caring? – Good
Are services responsive? – Good
Are services well-led? – Requires improvement
As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:
Older People – Requires improvement
People with long-term conditions – Requires improvement
Families, children and young people – Requires improvement
Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Requires improvement
People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Requires improvement
People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Requires improvement
The population groups are rated requires improvement overall because t
here are aspects of the practice that require improvement which therefore has an impact on all population groups. There were, however, examples of good practice.
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Horden Group Practice on 23 November 2017.
We inspected this service as part of our comprehensive inspection programme.
At this inspection we found:
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Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and report incidents and near misses.
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Outcomes for patients who use services were good.
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Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.
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Staff were consistent and proactive in supporting patients to live healthier lives through a targeted approach to health promotion.
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Information was provided to patients to help them understand the care and treatment available.
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Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
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Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
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There was a clear leadership structure in place and staff felt supported by management. The practice sought feedback from staff and patients, which they acted on.
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The practice was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.
We saw one area of outstanding practice:
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The practice provided a teledermatology service to all local patients. The practice could pho
tograph skin lesions and send the images securely to a Consultant Dermatologist to diagnose whether further treatment was necessary or not.This r
educed unnecessary hospital referrals and was a
convenient and quick service for patients. There had been 103 teledermatology referrals over the last year.
The areas where the provider must make improvements as they are in breach of regulations are:
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Ensure there is an effective system for infection control. (See Requirement Notice Section at the end of this report for further detail).
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Ensure the proper and safe management of medicines.
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Ensure a system is in place for the management of patient safety alerts.
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Ensure health and safety risk assessments are carried out.
The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
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Carry out a risk assessment for non-clinical staff who have not received a disclosure and barring check (DBS).
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Develop a system the practice can monitor and ensure all equipment at the practice is fit for purpose.
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Assure themselves that patients know how they can complain about services from the practice.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice