Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at High Street Surgery on 5 October 2016. The overall rating for the practice was good with requires improvement for safety. The full comprehensive report on the 5 October 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for High Street Surgery on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
This inspection was an announced focused inspection carried out on 17 July 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulations that we identified in our previous inspection on 5 October 2016. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also additional improvements made since our last inspection.
Overall the practice is now rated as Good.
Our key findings were as follows:
The practice had also made the following improvements:
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Information about duty of candour requirements had been provided and staff were knowledgeable about these requirement’s.
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The recruitment procedure had been further developed to include how training would be verified and gaps in employment history would be identified and managed.
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An action plan to address poor patient satisfaction with telephone access to the practice had been developed and implemented. The telephone system had been improved following an analysis of use with the telephony provider. The telephone system also allowed the practice to monitor calls and waiting times. Systems to enable the practice to text patients and for patients to be able to cancel appointments by text had also been implemented. The practice was also promoting booking on line and had provided information for patients relating to this. Pre-bookable telephone consultations had been implemented and additional, telephone on the day, access to speak to a GP was available 11.30am to 12 midday. Patient satisfaction had been reviewed by the practice and results showed improvement in patient experience and patients we spoke with were satisfied with access to appointments.
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Access arrangements to the main site for patients with a disability had been improved. A doorbell with a sign for patients had been installed so staff could be made aware if patients required help with the doors.
However, there were also areas of practice where the provider should make improvements.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice