Archived: The Park Medical Group

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Park Medical Group on 25 February 2015. The practice has two locations registered with CQC; Fawdon Park Road and Kingston Park Avenue. We visited both of these locations as part of the inspection. The practice was rated as good for all domains and population groups.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. There were comprehensive safety systems in place.

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified.

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in decisions about their care and treatment. Data showed that patients rated the practice higher than others for several aspects of care. We saw that staff were considerate with patients, treated them with understanding and maintained confidentiality.

• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.

• Patients we spoke with and those who completed CQC comment cards indicated they felt they could obtain appointments, including urgent appointments, when needed. The practice operated a nurse practitioner triage system and a rapid access clinic. The practice were aware of the needs of the local population and there was good continuity of care.

• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.

• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which they acted on.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

• The practice had continually monitored and audited the appointment system over several years to ensure that patients could obtain timely appointments with a GP which suited their needs.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice