15 December 2015
During a routine inspection
Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Lower Ince Surgery on 15 December 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.
Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:
- Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment and that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
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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.
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Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
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Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.
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Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
- There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
- The practice is a teaching practice for GP Registrars and medical students.
- The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.
- Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
- Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
We saw an area of outstanding practice:
The practice was one of the highest prescribers of Benzodiazepine medicines in the UK. Benzodiazepines are a group of medicines that are sometimes used to treat anxiety, sleeping problems and other disorders.
The practice had approximately 10% of their patients receiving this medicine; they developed a “Hypnotic Reduction Programme”. The programme has taken many years of supporting patients by various methods such as counselling, regular reviews and direct patients support.
We saw evidence of the practices prescribing rates reducing over the years from the highest in the UK to being the second lowest prescribers in the CCG and below national UK averages.
The hypnotic reduction programme is now part of the practice’s new patient health check programme and ongoing support programme for patients.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice