Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Mickleover Medical Centre on 7 and 16 December 2015. The routine inspection was over two days to include a GP specialist advisor. Overall the practice is rated as good.
Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:
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Patients were able to access care and treatment when they needed it, and most people could access appointments in a way, and at a time that suited them. Access to telephone consultations with nurses had significantly increased, following the appointment of a second triage nurse.
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An effective system was in place for managing significant events, with a focus on openness and learning when things went wrong. Overall, comprehensive systems were in place to keep patients safe, although certain safeguarding processes required strengthening to protect people from abuse and the risk of harm
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- The practice actively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on to improve the services.
- Patients said they felt listened to and were able to raise concerns as the staff were approachable. Complaints were actively reviewed as to how they were managed, to ensure that appropriate learning and improvements had taken place.
We saw the following area of outstanding practice:
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The practice had a large number of elderly and isolated patients. Several staff had set up regular tea and chat meetings at the practice to enable people to meet socially. The meetings also provided essential information. For example, fire officers from Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service recently attended a meeting to talk about fire safety at home. Staff held the meetings in their own time, and provided transport to enable people to attend.
However the provider needs to make the following improvements. Importantly the provider must:
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice