This practice is rated as outstanding overall. (Previous rating October 2014 – Outstanding)
The key questions are rated as:
Are services safe? – Good
Are services effective? – Outstanding
Are services caring? – Outstanding
Are services responsive? – Outstanding
Are services well-led? - Outstanding
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Prudhoe Medical Group on 6 September 2018 as part of our inspection programme.
At this inspection we found:
- The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
- The practice consistently reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence based guidelines.
- Feedback from patients who used the service, those close to them and external stakeholders was continually positive about the way staff cared for patients.
- Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that access to appointments was good, staff confirmed this.
- Leaders had the capacity and skills to deliver high-quality, sustainable care. They had an inspiring shared purpose, strived to deliver and motivated staff to succeed.
- Staff told us they felt supported and engaged with managers and there was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
We saw two areas of outstanding practice:
- The practice had all-encompassing systems and processes in place to ensure that patients received high quality care and treatment. Significant events triggered clinical audits. Audits identified improvements to patient care, and also associated protocols and templates to systematically implement these improvements. This all together resulted in safe use of innovative approaches to improve how care was delivered. High quality care had been commended by the local clinical commissioning group.
The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
- Carry out a risk assessment for non-clinical staff who had not received a DBS check.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice