Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Cunningham and Partners on 25 August 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.
Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:
- There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
- Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
- Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
- Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
- Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
- The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
- There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
- The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.
We saw one area of outstanding practice:
- The practice was responsible for a 60 bedded care home. The home had a bypass number to call the surgery and one of the GPs’ home and mobile number. The practice had installed a terminal at the home to access resident’s records when visiting. As well as ad hoc visits, a GP had a full morning at the care home each Thursday.
There were areas of practice where the provider should make improvements:
- Ensure the recruitment folders of all staff, including locum staff, include all the necessary pre-employment checks and records are kept of these.
- Consider the need for comprehensive complaint records to be maintained to support learning and improvement.
- Consider the privacy needs of the patients as some patient conversations could be overheard at the reception counter and in the shared administration area.
Consider a system to monitor the storage and usage of prescription pads and paper.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice