Archived: Yew Tree Healthy Living Centre

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Yew Tree Healthy Living Centre on 4 May 2016. Overall the practice is rated as requires improvement.

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

• There was a system in place for recording significant events and staff understood their responsibility to raise concerns.
• The practice was not operating an effective system for the management of incoming clinical correspondence and the management of pathology results.
• During the inspection we found that there were inconsistencies in the frequency of reviews for high risk medicines.
• A programme of clinical audits was undertaken across the three practices the provider managed, to improve patient care and outcomes.
• The majority of patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect. However, not all felt cared for, supported and listened to.
• We observed that the receptionist was courteous and helpful to patients attending both at reception and on the telephone.
• The national GP survey data was low compared to the national average for access to appointments, and the ability to get through to the practice via the telephone. The practice manager had recently accessed the national GP patient survey, but had yet to take any action to address the issues identified.
• The friends and family survey undertaken by the practice only ascertained if patients were aware of this survey.

The areas where the provider must make improvement are:

• The provider must actively seek and act on views of people who use the service, about their experience and quality of the care and treatment delivered.
• The provider must review their governance arrangements to ensure effective systems and processes are operated with regards to pathology results and high risk medicine reviews.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• The provider should promote attendance of GPs at key meetings.
• The provider should consider how they identify carers in order to offer support.
• The provider should continue to monitor the numbers of staff, to ensure that they are able to meet the needs of the people using the service
• The provider should ensure that GPs maintain a comprehensive understanding of the performance of the practice and outcomes for patients.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)

Chief Inspector of General Practice