Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection November 2014 – Good)
The key questions are rated as:
Are services safe? – Good
Are services effective? – Good
Are services caring? – Good
Are services responsive? – Good
Are services well-led? - Good
As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:
Older People – Good
People with long-term conditions – Good
Families, children and young people – Good
Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good
People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good
People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Hillview Medical Centre on 17 January 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. The practice discussed incidents as soon as they happened, learned from them and improved their processes where necessary.
- The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered in accordance with evidence- based guidelines.
- The practice worked collaboratively with other local practices and organisations to develop schemes which would benefit patients in the area. For example, the neighbourhood team, extended hours hubs and social prescribing (a way of linking patients in primary care with sources of support within the community).
- Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
- Patients told us that the appointment system was easy to use and said that they were able to access care when they needed it. Routine appointments were available within 48 hours.
- The practice had a computer software programme that automatically recorded future diary entries for patients who needed to be recalled for reviews.
- The practice had developed a protocol for prescribing end of life medicines which was going to be cascaded to other practices in Worcestershire.
- There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice