Dr S Garlapati and Dr A Garlapati Also known as Allen Street Clinic

Updated 4 January 2024

Dr S Garlapati and Dr A Garlapati is located in Staffordshire at:

Allen Street Clinic

Allen Street

Cheadle

Staffordshire

ST101HJ

The practice has an onsite dispensary which was visited as part of the inspection.

The provider is registered with CQC to deliver the Regulated Activities; diagnostic and screening procedures, maternity and midwifery services and treatment of disease, disorder or injury and surgical procedures.

The practice is situated within the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care System (ICS) and delivers General Medical Services (GMS) to a patient population of about 4,600. This is part of a contract held with NHS England.

The practice is part of a wider network of GP practices called Moorlands and Rual Primary Care Network.

Information published by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the second lowest decile (seven of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others.

According to the latest available data, the ethnic make-up of the practice area is 98.8% White, 0.6% Asian, 0.6% Mixed and 0.1% Black.

The age distribution of the practice population closely mirrors the local and national averages. There are more male patients registered at the practice compared to females.

There is a team of 3 GPs who provide cover. The practice has a 1 practice nurse who provides nurse led clinics for long-term conditions. The GPs are supported at the practice by a team of reception/administration staff. The practice manager provides managerial oversight. The practice is also a GP training practice. Currently there are 2 GP registrars working at the practice.

The practice is open between 8.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 6pm Monday to Friday, except on Thursday afternoon when the practice closes. When the practice is closed on Thursday afternoon the phones are diverted to the primary care network to triage calls. The practice offers a range of appointment types including book on the day, telephone consultations and advance appointments.

Extended access is provided locally by the primary care network, where late evening and weekend appointments are available from 6.30pm to 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 2pm on Saturday. Out of hours services are provided by NHS111.

Updated 4 January 2024

We carried out an announced focused inspection) at Dr S Garlapati and Dr A Garlapati on 25 October 2023. Overall, the practice is rated as requires improvement.

Safe - inadequate

Effective – requires improvement

Caring – rating of good carried forward from previous inspection

Responsive - good

Well-led - requires improvement

Following our previous inspection on 10 July 2017, the practice was rated good overall and for all key questions. The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Dr S Garlapati and Dr A Garlapati on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

We carried out this inspection in line with our inspection priorities.

How we carried out the inspection

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site.

This included:

• Conducting clinical staff interviews using video conferencing.
• Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system (this was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements).
• Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider.
• Requesting evidence from the provider.
• A short site visit.
• Conducting staff interviews on site.

Our findings

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

• what we found when we inspected
• information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We found that:

• Minutes of staff meetings provided showed no evidence that safeguarding was a standing agenda item and safeguarding concerns were shared with the team.
• Governance systems required strengthening to ensure risks were mitigated. For example, we identified concerns in relation to the actioning of safety alerts and risk assessments had not been completed to ensure the safety of the patients and staff at the practice. This included fire safety and infection control.
• The clinical leadership team were unable to provide assurances that they had a clinical supervision process in place for non-medical prescribers and the pharmacy dispensers.
• We identified gaps in staff training and found processes were ineffective to monitor training updates.
• Systems within the dispensary required improvements to ensure the safety of medicines. For example: Fridge temperatures had not been recorded daily over many months.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way

We found breaches of regulations. The provider must:

• Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.
• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Health Care