Following our visits to the location on 09 and 17 July 2013 we asked the provider to make some improvements. The provider sent us an action plan telling us they had made the necessary improvements, and this visit was to check to see if those improvements had been made.We spoke with two patients during this visit. Both of them told us they felt safe and well cared for and that staff treated them with respect. They also told us they felt that the surgery was kept clean and tidy.
We found there had been improvements in regard to protecting patients from the risk of abuse. Staff had received training in this area and they were aware of policies in place and their responsibilities. We also found there had been improvements in regard to developing effective communication systems.
Whilst there had been improvements in regard to infection control policies and procedures, we had concerns about staffs knowledge and understanding of these. We also found there were still some areas of concern in regards to the cleanliness and infection control of the premises, and the provider's auditing systems had not identified these.
We found there had been some improvements in regard to the management, storage and safe keeping of medicines. However, again there were concerns in respect of staffs knowledge and understanding of the medicine policies, and in regard to the disposal of medicines and audits undertaken.
The provider's quality assurance systems had failed to recognise that effective audits were not taking place to identify issues of concern in regard to infection control and the management of medicines. This meant that effective systems were not in place to identity and manage risks relating to the health, safety and welfare of the patients who used the service.