Archived: Glenpark Medical Centre

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Glenpark Medical Centre on 25 May 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. All opportunities for learning from internal and external incidents were maximised.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• The practice carried out clinical audit activity and were able to demonstrate improvements to patient care as a result of this.
• Feedback from patients about their care was consistently positive. Patients reported that they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect.
• Urgent appointments were usually available on the day they were requested. Pre- bookable appointments were available within acceptable timescales.
• The practice had a number of policies and procedures to govern activity, which were reviewed and updated regularly.
• The practice had proactively sought feedback from patients and had an active patient participation group. The practice implemented suggestions for improvement and made changes to the way they delivered services in response to feedback.
• The practice used the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) as one method of monitoring effectiveness.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• The practice had a clear vision in which quality and safety was prioritised. The strategy to deliver this vision was regularly discussed and reviewed with staff and stakeholders.

We saw several areas of outstanding practice. This included:

• The development of an integrated baby clinic with the local NHS Foundation Trust. This was staffed by a GP and a nurse from the practice together with a health visitor and nursery nurse employed by the trust. Parents therefore had access to a multi-disciplinary team of practitioners and services to help them care for their child, which included a weekly drop in service. The clinic was well attended and patient feedback about the service on the day of our inspection was overwhelmingly positive.
• The practice was proactive in their identification of, and support offered to carers, including young carers. They had identified 3.5% of their patient population as being a carer which included 36 young carers.
• The practice was performing well and the highest performing practice in Gateshead as at 31 March 2016 in terms of ensuring that eligible patients had received a flu vaccination. 94% of their eligible patient population had been vaccinated.

However, there were some areas where the provider should make improvements.

The provider should:

• Introduce a significant event policy as an aid for staff unfamiliar with the process
• Review their induction checklist to include training on infection control and handwashing techniques

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice