This practice is rated as Good overall. Previous inspection January 2015 - Good
The key questions are rated as:
Are services safe? – Good
Are services effective? – Outstanding
Are services caring? – Good
Are services responsive? – Good
Are services well-led? - Good
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Whickham Practice on 8 May 2018 as part of our inspection programme.
At this inspection we found:
- The practice had systems to keep patients safe and safeguarded from abuse.
- The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
- The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care they provided. They ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
- Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
- The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. They took account of patient needs and preferences.
- Patients were able to access care and treatment from the practice within an acceptable timescale for their needs.
- There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation. The practice proactively used performance information to drive improvement.
We saw areas of outstanding practice:
- The practice was proactive in their support and care of older patients who made up a large proportion of their patient population. This included identifying and supporting frail patients, effective arrangements for social prescribing, good management of long term conditions and comprehensive care planning. As a result they were able to demonstrate a reduction in non-elective admissions to hospital for this group of patients.
- For 2015/16 and 2016/17 (the latest published data available) the practice had attained 100% in the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) scheme for the care and treatment of patients with long term conditions. They had developed a personalised approach to ensure patients were involved in care planning activity.
However, there are areas where the provider should improve:
- The provider should retain a centralised record of clinicians safeguarding training so that there is managerial oversight of when updates are due.
- Sustain recent improvement to monitor and record action taken when the temperatures of fridges used to store medicines fall outside of the permitted range.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGPChief Inspector of General Practice