The Westwood Surgery

The Westwood Surgery is a GP practice location in the London Borough of Bexley.

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions.

This was a comprehensive announced inspection carried out on 20 December 2019. We rated the location as good overall.

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 have rated this practice as good overall and for the population groups.

We rated the practice as requires improvement for providing safe services because:

• There was a lack of valid authorisation for nurses working to Patient Group Directions
• There were arrangements in place for the maintenance of safe premises. The required actions identified in risk assessments had been followed up with the premises landlords to get these resolved.
• The practice maintained records of staff training on topics that supported their provision of safety systems and processes

We rated the practice as good for providing effective services because:

• There was evidence of quality improvement activity.
• Staff were receiving regular appraisals.
• Effective joint working was in place. The practice held regular multidisciplinary meetings and detailed records of discussions and action points were retained.
• Staff worked together and with other organisations to deliver effective care and treatment.
• The practice was able to demonstrate that staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles.

We rated the practice as good for providing caring services because:

• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• Patient feedback from GP patient survey results were in line with local and national averages.

We rated the practice as good for responsive services because:

• The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs.
• Complaints were managed in a timely fashion and detailed responses were provided.
• Patient feedback indicated that respondents did not experience timely access to care and treatment. However, the practice had acted to improve access, and had reviewed and adjusting the appointment system to cater to the needs of patients.

We rated the practice as good for providing well-led services because:

• There were clear responsibilities, roles and systems of accountability to support good governance and management.
• There were clear and effective processes for managing issues and performance.
• The provider had an active patient participation group and there were structured feedback and engagement mechanisms for patients.
• There was evidence of continuous improvement or innovation.
• Staff provided positive feedback about working at the service which indicated a good working culture.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

• Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients

(Please see the specific details on action required at the end of this report).

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review their arrangements for the population group of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) to ensure they received appropriate care and treatment
• Review their patient access arrangements to ensure they were taking appropriate steps to address poor levels of patient satisfaction in this area.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care