Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Wychwood Surgery on 8 December 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good. We have rated the practice as requires improvement for providing effective services.
Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:
- There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
- Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
- Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
- Staff demonstrated a good awareness of their roles and responsibilities and received training. However, monitoring of training was not monitored or recorded appropriately.
- Patient care was effectively monitored in order to drive improvement.
- Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
- The diverse needs of the patient population were considered in the planning and delivery of the service, specifically the older population.
- Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
- Patients’ satisfaction in the accessing appointments was very positive and ranked very highly when compared to the local and national averages from the national GP surgery.
- 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 it acted on.
We saw areas of outstanding practice:
- During Saturday morning extended hours the practice took back any calls usually made to the out of hours service, so that any home visits for local complex patients could be made. This provided a more personalised and responsive service to local care homes on a Saturday.
- Data showed that patients rated the practice very highly in several aspects of care. This was reflected in the national GP survey results. For example:
- 98% said the last GP they spoke to was good at treating them with care and concern compared to the CCG average of 88% and national average of 85%.
- 100% said the nurse gave them enough time compared to the local average and national average of 92%.
However there were areas of practice where the provider must make improvements:
- Improve monitoring of staff training to ensure the practice delivers and refreshes staff training required for staff awareness and skills.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice