Archived: Ferrybridge Medical Centre

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Ferrybridge Medical Centre on 8 September 2015. Overall the practice is rated as outstanding.

Please note that when referring to information throughout this report, for example any reference to the Quality and Outcomes Framework data, this relates to the most recent information available to the CQC at that time.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. All opportunities for learning from internal and external incidents were maximised.
• The practice used innovative and proactive methods to improve patient outcomes, working with other local providers to share best practice. For example, the practice had identified a gap in the sexual health service in the area and they had commenced a weekly youth clinic for patients under the age of 18 years.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment. Information was provided in a number of formats to help patients understand the care available to them.
• The practice worked closely with other organisations and with the local community in planning how services were provided to ensure that they meet people’s needs. The practice had pioneered GP and advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) appointments at Pontefract General Infirmary to improve access for patients at weekends and to reduce the burden on the local accident and emergency department.
• The practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a consequence of feedback from patients and from the Patient Participation Group (PPG).
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand
• The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority. A business plan was in place, was monitored and regularly reviewed and discussed with all staff. High standards were promoted and owned by all practice staff with evidence of excellent team working across all roles.

We saw several areas of outstanding practice including:

• The practice had shared the outcomes of a clinical audit undertaken within the practice relating to guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). They had shared the outcomes internally, locally with the Clinical Commissioning Group and nationally in a published paper in the British Journal of General Practice in September 2015.
• The practice had identified a gap in the sexual health service in the area. An advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) had been recruited to improve access to advice and support, particularly for young people. The nurse had worked with the Terence Higgins Trust to commence a weekly youth clinic for patients under the age of 18 years.
• The practice offered separate advice lines for children and those with long term conditions during opening hours. These were staffed by the ANPs. This enabled patients to access clinical support and advice and where necessary and appropriate be prescribed medicines. Patients said they found this to be a very useful service.
• The practice worked with the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to improve access to services at weekends. They had pioneered GP and advanced nurse practitioner appointments at Pontefract General Infirmary (A common venue where patients go to the accident and emergency department). They had written the business case, managed the pilot and assumed information governance responsibility. GPs and ANPs from the practice had filled the rota for these clinics. This scheme had been launched in February 2015 and had been extended until end of September 2015.

However there were areas of practice where the provider should make improvements:

• Improvements should be made in the dispensary at the branch surgery in relation to security and receipt of waste medicines. Dispensary staff should be involved in root cause analysis where there are significant events or near misses in their area.
• The High Street building should have more immediate access to a defibrillator.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice