Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at St Albans Medical Centre on 11 October 2016. The overall rating for the practice was requires improvement, and the practice was rated as inadequate for safety. The full comprehensive report on the October 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for St Albans Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Following the October 2016 inspection, the practice submitted an action plan, outlining what they would do to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breach of regulations 12 (Safe care and treatment), 17 (Good governance) and 18 (Staffing) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
We undertook this announced focussed inspection on 25 April 2017 to check that the practice had followed their plan and to confirm that they now met the legal requirements. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements.
Overall the practice is now rated as good.
Our key findings were as follows:
- There was an open and transparent approach to safety and a system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
- Staff were aware of current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills and knowledge to deliver effective care and treatment and to carry out their roles effectively. Processes were in place to ensure that staff undertook training updates at the recommended intervals.
- The practice had clearly defined and embedded systems to minimise risks to patient safety.
- The partners were clear about the performance of the practice and we saw evidence of action they had taken to address areas of below-average performance. Data showed patient outcomes were comparable to the national average and the practice had improved their processes in order to address their previously high exception reporting rate.
- Clinical audits had been completed and we saw evidence of these being used to improve patient care.
- The practice had a number of policies and procedures to govern activity; these had been reviewed and amended following issues raised during the previous inspection.
- Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand; however, not all complaint responses included information about how the complaint could be escalated.
There were three areas of where the provider should make improvements.
The provider should:
- Continue to ensure that they are identifying carers so they can be signposted to appropriate support.
- Ensure that all complaint responses include details of how the complaint can be escalated.
- Continue to work to develop their Patient Participation Group.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice