Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Summerhill Surgery on 30 September 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.
Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:
- Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
- Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.
- The practice held an intermediate care contract and provided GP services to approximately 50 nursing homes across the area. The practice had a dedicated nursing home team who worked within the nursing home division of the practice.
- Risks to patients were assessed and well managed, with the exception of risk assessments in the absence of disclosure and barring checks (DBS checks) for staff that chaperoned.
- Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, reviewed and addressed.
- Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
- There was evidence of appraisals and personal development plans for staff, with the exception of one member of the nursing team.
- There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
- The practice had good facilities and was equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
However there were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.
Importantly the provider must:
- Ensure risk assessments are in place to assess the risk of not having disclosure and barring checks (DBS) for staff who chaperone.
The areas where the provider should make improvement are :
- Ensure staff performance and training needs are identified and documented for all members of the nursing team through a programme of annual appraisals.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice