Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
Charlton Medical Centre is located in Telford, Shropshire. We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 01 July 2015. Overall Charlton Medical Centre is rated as good.
Specifically, we found the practice to be good in caring, effective, safe and well-led services and outstanding in responsive. It was good for providing services for all the population groups.
Our key findings were as follows:
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment. Information was provided to help patients understand the care available to them.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered after considering best practice guidance.
• The practice worked closely with other organisations and with the local community in planning how services were provided to ensure they met patients’ needs.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand
• The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority. High standards were promoted and owned by all practice staff with evidence of team working across all roles.
• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. All opportunities for learning from internal and external incidents were maximised.
We saw several areas of outstanding practice including:
• The practice funded enhanced diagnostic services for their patients such as a heel scanner for diagnosis of osteoporosis, clinical photography, dermoscopy (acts as an aid in the diagnosis of skin lesions), sleep apnoea monitors (a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing or instances of shallow or infrequent breathing during sleep). This had improved diagnostic access for its patients.
• The practice provided an enhanced service with a view to facilitating timely diagnosis and support for people with dementia. The practice held a license for the use of a tablet device application used to test for memory problems independent of language or educational attainment with the potential for allowing diagnosis of early dementia and therefore in the implementation of care and treat accordingly.
• The practice had purchased an ultrasound scanner and this had improved diagnostic access for its patients. The practice together with the local hospital trust now staffed and managed this diagnostic facility from the practice for its patients and for other local practices.
However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.
The provider should:
• Complete a formal written risk assessment on the emergency medicines not held as stock within the practice.
• Complete an Infection and Prevention Control audit.
• Consider the inclusion of practice nursing staff in clinical meetings and whole staff meetings.
• Consider an evaluation of the additional services provided by the practice to its patients, in particular any impact on the delivery of patient care.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice