We inspected this practice and the two branches at Garforth and Monk Fryston on the 28 and 29 October 2014 as part of our comprehensive inspection programme.
We found that the practice had made provision to ensure care for people was safe, caring, responsive, effective and well lead and we have rated the practice as good overall.
Our key findings were as follows:
- Patients were satisfied with the approaches adopted by staff and said they were caring and helpful. We received a number of comments from patients who told us that the GPs took their time to listen to them.
- The practice offers flexible appointment times and is open until 8pm one day per week and Saturday mornings. Appointments are available to book in advance. The practice also offers telephone consultations and an online appointment and prescription service.
- The practice has a clear vision to deliver high quality care and promote good outcomes for patients. We found that these values are embedded within the culture of the practice. There are good governance and risk management processes in place. We found that the provider listens to patient comments and takes action to improve their service.
- We looked at how well services are provided for specific groups of people and what good care looks like for them. We found that the practice actively monitors the needs of patients. We saw that they make arrangements for older patients and patients who have long term health conditions to be regularly reviewed and to attend the practice for routine checks. We found that appointments provide flexibility for patients who are working.
We saw some areas of outstanding practice including:
- The practice had identified patients over the age of 74 years and those they considered to be at high risk of deterioration or admission to hospital due to the complexities of their health needs. Individual plans of care had been developed for these patients. Each patient considered at high risk had a named GP and a member of the reception staff as a named care coordinator. Patients were contacted at regular intervals by either their named GP or care coordinator to monitor the patients’ health and wellbeing.
However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.
- We found systems for infection prevention and control did not always follow recommended guidance.
- Arrangements to control access to the controlled drug cupboard at the Monks Fryston site were not robust.
Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice