Teldoc-Oakengates Medical Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Teldoc-Oakengates Medical Practice on 20 January 2020 as part of our inspection programme. During this inspection, we also visited the Hadley branch.

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 and requires improvement for Responsive and for all population groups.

We rated Responsive and all population groups as requires improvement because:

• Further work was needed to improve patient satisfaction in relation to access to care and treatment. Some patients felt that there were unacceptable waiting times and delays in getting to see a GP and that the appointment system needed further review.

• The national GP patient survey results (2019) for the practice were below local and national averages for questions relating to access to care and treatment. In particular the patient satisfaction around telephone access, the type of appointment offered and the overall experience of making an appointment.

We found that:

• The practice had clear systems, practices and processes to keep people safe and safeguarded from abuse.
• There were adequate systems to assess, monitor and manage risks to patient safety.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• We saw examples of proactive management of patients’ medicines, through the support of the clinical pharmacists employed by the organisation.
• Leaders were aware of the strengths and areas for development and strived to keep updated. There was a strong focus on developing the skills of their staff team and keeping abreast with changes in the health economy.
• There was a strong focus on quality improvement, through the extensive auditing and clinical supervision.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

• Sign all Patient Group Directions (PGD’s) used at the practice to indicate that they have been adopted by their organisation.
• Implement the practice lone working policy so that staff and patients are kept safe.
• Risk assess blind cords and make them secure to avoid harm to children and vulnerable adults.
• Continue to improve patient satisfaction with regards to access to the service and consultations with health care practitioners.
• Consider the number of reception staff assigned to Oakengates Medical Practice to ensure patients’ needs are met in a timely way.
• Further promote the work of the patient participation group (PPG) and promote information sharing with patients.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care