12 December 2017
During a routine inspection
Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
This practice is rated as Requires Improvement overall. (Previous inspection 19 May 2015 – Good)
The key questions are rated as:
Are services safe? – Requires Improvement
Are services effective? – Good
Are services caring? – Good
Are services responsive? – Good
Are services well-led? – Requires Improvement
As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The rating for safe and well-led is requires improvement. The concerns which led to these ratings apply to everyone using the practice, including all the population groups.
Older People – Requires Improvement
People with long-term conditions – Requires Improvement
Families, children and young people – Requires Improvement
Working age people (including those retired and students – Requires Improvement
People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Requires Improvement
People experiencing poor mental health (including people living with dementia) – Requires Improvement
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Kieran Pressley, known as Totley Rise Medical Centre on 12 December 2017 as part of our inspection programme.
At this inspection we found:
- The practice had not completed a legionella risk assessment to manage, mitigate and monitor the risk of legionella.
- No enivironmental risk assessments had been completed of systems or premises.
- The fire risk assessment had not been reviewed since July 2016. Actions identified on the last fire risk assessment had not been completed. For example, there had been no fire drills completed and staff had not received fire safety training updates.
- Safety alerts were disseminated but there was no record of what actions had been taken as a result.
- Staff had administered immunisations without a patient specific direction (PSD) from a prescriber.
- There was no record of actions taken from the infection prevention and control (IPC) audit completed in 2015. . We observed the same cleaning equipment was used for cleaning all areas in the premises including clinical areas increasing the risk of cross infection and cleaning equipment was not colour coded as recommended in the National Patient Safety Agency specifications for cleanliness in the NHS for primary care medical premises. Sharps bins were not labelled appropriately in two of the three consulting rooms seen as outlined in the Health Technical Memorandum 07-01- safe management of healthcare waste.
- The provider ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines and most staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment. However, some staff had not received or were overdue fire safety and IPC training.
- Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
- Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
- The governance arrangements did not always operate effectively as there was a lack of monitoring and oversight of processes and systems to manage safety in the practice effectively. There was a leadership structure in place and staff told us they felt respected, supported and valued. They felt part of a team and were proud to work at the practice.
The areas where the provider must make improvements as they are in breach of regulations are:
- Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.
The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
- Ensure all staff receive an appraisal as part of the appraisal process.
- Consider keeping a record of all staff meetings.
- Review staff training in infection control and fire safety.
- Record in the patient record what follow up activity has been completed for children who have not attended hospital appointments.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice